Star Wars: The Old Republic Outlast
by Alleks
Summary: This Story is about Sophy'a, Code-named Cipher Nine, and her Adventures beyond the Story Campaign! This is also my First Upload! Hurray! Thank you for reading and i would Greatly appreciate Feedback of any kind, thanks again! :)
1. Prologue

A Long Time ago…..

In a Galaxy far far away….

Star Wars the Old Republic

4000 years before the rise of Palpatine and Darth Vader, The GALACTIC REPUBLIC is under siege by a vast SITH EMPIRE. Back from hiding in unknown regions of space for nearly 400 years, they arrive to reclaim their galaxy and take vengeance on the Republic and the Jedi who banished them into isolation all those years ago.

The planet MORDAN'MORAR is a vital strategic stronghold for the Empire's efforts against the Republic. Both sides are competing to gain hold of the planet, for it allows access to hyperspace routes that go deep into Republic or Imperial space.

The Empire's best Cipher Agent, SOPHY'A, has been sent to negotiate a deal between The Empire and the ruling House on Mordan'Morar. Her orders are to convince them to allow the Empire to use their Hyperspace routes, and eliminate them if necessary…

Chapter one: Noble Negotiations and Its Negations

The Shuttle exited hyperspace in a fury of blue and flew towards the planet surface. Sophy'a maneuvered the ship onto the landing platform of the Royal estate on Mordan'Morar, a world with a bright yellow sun beaming behind vibrant mountains and rows of grassy plains. The palace itself was built upon the highest mountain in the range, and under it was a small but growing village. Sophy'a began to power down the shuttle and made her way to the exit. A Man stood outside on the landing platform. He wore plain cloths and kept his hair short and neat, his hands moved out from behind his back and put moved them outwards. "

Ah Agent, Welcome to the Castle of House Duke DeAlde of Mordan'Morar!" The Man said as Sophy'a walked out of the shuttle,

"Agents of the Glorious Empire are always welcome within our walls! My Name is Servant Kale, Come; let me give you the tour and acquaint you with our lovely traditions!" Sophy'a rolled her Red eyes and proceeded to follow Kale around the castle.

A duo of servants walked past her, eyeing her oddly with a hint of anger. Meanwhile she almost dozed off as the man showed her grand paintings and statues of men she's never heard of... _These Noble types are so Daft_ , she thought as she noticed a window lock in the meeting room about to come apart due to neglect _, The Duke must have spent the money meant for repairs to buy a grand crystal idol or something_.

"And here," Kale said, "Is the Grand Crystal idol of Our Beloved…" Sophy'a groaned internally and produced to not pay attention to Kale for the remainder of the tour.

"Here are your quarters, Miss Agent, if you require anything, just yell and I shall arrive in haste! enjoy your stay in Castle DeAlde!" Kale scurried down the hallway and into another room.

 _What a Waste of time that was_ , she Thought. _I'm here for a job, not a bloody History lesson_.

Sophy'a walked into the room; it was a lavish dorm with a Den, bedroom, bathroom, and a lovely view of the town below. The room was scattered with some kind of fancy object that showed off the Wealth of the castle. Sophy'a removed her gear on the couch. Opening her bag, she pulled out a small device and started scanning the room with it. The Device picked up a strange object located in one of the Magnificent Vases located in the Den.

 _There_ , she thought.

She grabbed the vase and reached into it, and from it a Listening device emerged. She put the device back into the vase, opened the nearby window, and casually tossed the vase outside. After waiting a few seconds to hear it satisfyingly smash onto the Ground, she undressed and walked into the Santi-steam to quickly wash off.

While she was scrubbing herself, her mind drifted to her mission. She was to somehow gain Duke DeAlde's support in the War Effort against the Republic. Sophy'a knew that Duke DeAlde loved his Lavish luxurious lifestyle _,_

 _perhaps that could be exploited_ , she though.

She turned off the Santi-Steam and quickly dried herself off. She looked outside; the sun was setting between the Mordan'Morar Mountains _._ _Good time to sleep_ , she thought. She dressed in simple black clothing and laid herself on the bed.

 _One Day_ , Sophy'a thought, _this war is going to end_ , _and one side is going to win._ She adjusted herself; staring straight at the ceiling _._

 _And that Side is going to be mine_. Sophy'a turned off the lights and began to drift off.

She was shaken out of it with a small beeping noise coming from a vase that sat on her Nightstand. Sophy'a took a look inside, then, very angrily, sent the vase flying out into the cold Mordan'Morar night.

"Welcome Cipher! You're right on time!" Duke DeAlde said as he greeted Sophy'a.

"I Trust you've found my humble little castle in my corner of the galaxy to your liking. I mean, of course you did, I am the richest man in the System." Sophy'a decided she was going to eliminate this man the first moment he wasn't needed.

"Oh the Accommodations were absolutely lovely Sir Duke."

The Duke looked over back to her, "For you, DeAlde will be enough." The Duke Winked.

Sophy'a fought the urge to spill what she ate for breakfast onto the rug. She cleared her throat, "Shall we begin Negotiations, DeAlde?"

DeAlde smiled, "Why of Course! Onwards!"

DeAlde lead Sophy'a to the meeting room. "I must say, my dear, your species is quite unusual among our world, please forgive any rudeness my servants may provide, they are loyal… but not bright." The Duke rambled on.

 _I'm used to it,_ Sophy'a thought, but she said nothing in response.

DeAlde led Sophy'a to the same meeting room she had passed by earlier. Sophy'a noticed a grand painting on the wall with two figures holding swords, there was a plaque under it, _Duel of Kings_.

"Would you like Refreshments?" the Duke said.

Sophy'a said nothing.

"DROID, Bring me and my Guest two cups of our Freshest Nectar Immediately!" The droid shuffled off into a doorway. The Duke, after waiting for the droids to return with their drinks, turned on a giant Hologram in the middle of the table. It displayed Mordan'Morar and several other planets in the orbit of the systems sun.

"Now let us…" His Sentence was interrupted by the doors slamming open. In the Doors place was a young man with shaggy blond hair and freckled cheeks, a cross looks on his face. "Father!" the man said, "How dare you allow an Imperial in our doors!? Her kind is a mockery of freedom!" The Child Declared, then he looked over to Sophy'a, with fury in his eyes. "And she's an Alien nonetheless! Look at her odd blue skin! She could never understand our ways!"

Duke DeAlde stood up, "Agent, meet my brash arrogant son, Lord Erwin of House DeAlde, my second in command. He should be in his room doing his studies, instead of rudely interrupting me in my negotiations! Guards, remove Lord Erwin from this room!" the two guard droids picked up the boy by his arms, and as he screamed in complaint, and removed him from the room _._

 _Good riddance_. Sophy'a saw the anger remove itself from Duke DeAlde.

"Apologies Agent, he gets his recklessness from his mother. Our House sees the potential in what your Empire would provide for me with my considerably strong vantage point against the republic, proceed with your offer…"

 _Now I remember why I'm not a politician_ , Sophy'a said as she cracked her knuckles, _The Meetings are boring_. She walked down the stone hallway, her boots clicking across the cold stone. She began to head back to her suite _._

 _At least on the bright side_ , Sophy'a thought, _that ruler will soon be clay in my hands._ She continued the walk around the lavish palace. She did have to admit, it was rather lavishing. Walking around a corner, she noticed a pool with bubbling hot water that no being seemed to be enjoying. _This may be a job, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself_. Smiling maliciously, Sophy'a's mind drifted off as she began to familiarize herself with the pool

***Later that evening***

Sophy'a was sound asleep when they came for her. Palace guards in Special Forces armor invaded her room.

"You're Under Arrest!" The guards said as they ripped her out of bed and onto the floor, and began beating her, trying to attach binders around her wrist. She tried to fight back, but the guards had the advantage.

In the midst of the Chaos, she overheard a young voice cry out, "Yes, that's her! That's the Alien that murdered our Great lord and my father! Take her away!" She blacked out soon after as one of the guards hit her over the head.

Chapter 2: The King is dead, long live the king.

Sophy'a awoke with her arms and legs chained to a cold stone floor. A Throbbing pain resided within her head and ribs. She struggled to get free, but the chains wouldn't budge.

"Don't Struggle, creature" Sophy'a looked up and saw Lord Ewin standing with her in the, looking down on her with a malicious smile.

 _Ugh_ Sophy'a didn't say a word. She knew how to resist interrogations. She noticed the guards outside her cell wore Republic Insignias… _interesting_ …

"you're lucky, you know you would've been beaten to death by our superior Human strength had I not stopped the guards who locked you up."

Sophy'a said nothing and looked down to the stone floor. Lord Erwin stopped pacing and crouched down.

"Your Hyperspace lanes that you so preciously want won't be yours, but instead in the hands of the Republic, the people who will fill the rest of the Galaxy with light, you failed scum."

Sophy'a said nothing.

"You can drop the act, Imperial dog, they may treat you like your nothing in an Imperial Prison, but I assure you, our Republic prisons…"

he moved a few fingers to Sophy'a's chin,

"can treat their prisons quite…quite well…"

Sophy'a decided enough was enough, and head-butted the Human. Lord Erwin was knocked back, utterly shocked. Sophy'a saw him move a hand up to his nose, seeing blood pouring out of it. Sophy'a smirked and whispered, "How's that for Superior?"

The lord was furious. "GUARDS," Erwin called, "Give her no food for the rest of the day!"

he looked back at Sophy'a, "Ill wipe that smile off your face soon enough, Imperial scum! I'll make sure your empire burns!"

Sophy'a continued to smirk as she looked down onto the stone floor. Lord Erwin quickly walked out of her cell and furiously stomped out of the cell block. Then all of a sudden Erwin came back, this time pressing his face to the cell bars, "And Never swim in MY pool again!" he jogged off again to Maker knows where. Sophy'a couldn't help but chuckle. "HEY, quiet you Imperial Alien!" The Republic guard yelled from his post. Sophy'a didn't say a word and begun to plan her escape.

She waited until the nightly guard change. Tonight there was simply a young man posted to guarding her cell. She slowly tried to reach into her bracelet, using her two fingers; she grabbed the tiny lock pick she kept in there.

 _So incompetent, they didn't even bother to take off my armor_. She quietly unchained her hand.

"Hey, human, you think you're so tough?" Sophy'a said in a calm voice, trying to taunt the guard.

The guard looked back to her. "Quiet Alien", there was a hint of anger there, _good._

"In Imperial Prisons, the guards would prove their might by beating prisoners; it truly tests your prowess, why don't you prove yourself to me, Republic scum, if you have the courage to do so?" Sophy'a continued. The Guard looked back at her with anger in his eyes, "I SAID quite alien!" Sophy'a smirked; "Make Me."

the guard then quickly fumbled around with his key and opened the cell. "You Son of an Alien nerf herder" the guard grumbled as he entered the cell.

He raised a hand to strike, but Sophy'a was faster. She quickly used her unchained hand and punched the guard's groin; the guard yelled in pain, and then was knocked out as Sophy'a smacked his head into the prison wall. Sophy'a grabbed the guard's key card and walked out of the cell, dusting off her shoulder.

Her prison was located in one of the castles turrets. She tried swiping her card in to the door, but the door would not accept her card. Confused, Sophy'a tried again. _Damnit_. She looked around the room, frustrated. Her eyes stopped at the window.

She thought for a bit, and then proceeded to smash the window open. She looked to the right, then the left. There, the Meeting room. She could see the broken window fraying in the cold wind. There was a small layer of brick that outlined the wall, just big enough for Sophy'a to walk on if she was careful. The Meeting room had a balcony as well. Sophy'a then climbed out of the window, carefully trying to hug onto the brick wall. The Meeting room was a level under her, so she'd have to jump. She didn't dare look down as she carefully slid across the small bricks, her hair was flying in the cold winds and the only light she had was the moonlight. She continued to shuffle down the side of the castle, nearly slipping due to the light layer of ice that glazed the bricks. She got within jumping distance of the meeting room balcony. Sophy'a looked up, took a deep breath, and then she jumped. She landed on the balcony with a grunt. Relieved, she took another deep breath, she had made it.

Breaking the already broken lock on the window, she crawled into the room, a light warm breeze greeting her nicely after being blown over with frost. _The Holocomunicator on the Desk_ …Walking over to the table, she opened the Hologram and entered in an emergency signal, calling for all nearby Imperial ships to accept her call. _There!_

"Imperial Cruiser _Majesty of Flame_ to Mysterious Distress call," An Imperial accent greeted her on the other line,"this is a private channel for emergencies only. State your business."

Sophy'a quickly responded," _Majesty of Flame_ , This is Cipher Nine of Imperial intelligence, My Mission was complicated by Republic Interference, I require assistance."

A Pause,

"Cipher nine, this is Darth Marr of the Dark Council, we are en route to assist you, My Flagship _, Majesty of Flame_ , will be on Mordan'Morar in an estimated travel time-" Static, "-standard day, do try to keep yourself alive until then…Marr out."

Just as the channel was cut off, the Door slammed open. "Hey! What are you doing?!" Erwin said as he raised his blaster pistol towards Sophy'a. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't shoot you right now, Imperial Scum."

Sophy'a's mind raced in an attempt to save her life, she raised her hands, and then her eyes caught sight of a certain item on the wall. "I request the Duel of the Kings!" Sophy'a said in haste. Lord Erwin looked shocked, "Outsiders cannot participate in such an ancient ritual."

"Yes, they can, milord." Servant Kale said as he snuck into the room. "Outsiders may partake in the Duel of the Kings, so long as they have proved worthy, and I believe this young lady has proven herself by breaking out of your prison."

Lord Erwin's face was now in utter disbelief. "Damnit Kale I'll have you beheaded for this! But, tradition is tradition. Very well alien, the Duel will be at sunrise, then, Former Servant Kale will be executed for treason. Be gone to your quarters!" Erwin lowered his weapon and walked out.

Sophy'a breathed a sigh of relief. "He's arrogant but skilled, Miss Agent," Kale said from the door, "be prepared, it is to the death."

Chapter 3: the Final Duel

The Sun rose above the White capped mountains. Lord Erwin stood in the center of the Arena courtyard; built atop of the castles throne room. Sophy'a was escorted by Servant Kale and nearly a dozen Republic soldiers. The Sun warmed Sophy'a's face as she walked to the center.

Servant Kale scurried over to where they were. Bowing formally, He handed Erwin a small cylinder, he grabbed it then hit a button on it, reveling a green blade.

 _A lightsaber_.

Bowing again, Kale handed Sophy'a a short worn sword with engravings on the blade. She looked at Erwin and raised her eyebrows. _At least now it's an even fight_. She took the sword. She felt the grip, and then flipped the sword around _, just as they taught me at the Academy_.

"May the best _Man_ win, Imperial Dog." Erwin backed a bit and swung his Lightsaber, showing off its green blade.

"Make Ready!" Servant Kale announced, his voice booming across the valley.

"Go!"

Erwin spared no time and automatically swung for Sophy'a's neck. Sophy'a dodged quickly then surprised her Opponent with a quick slash to his arm. Blocking, Erwin twirled around and attempts a strike on Sophy'a. Sophy'a dodged and stepped back into a defensive stance. Lord Erwin slowly walked up to her and bashed at her twice, the second hit made Sophy'a stumble back. _Strang,_ another slash approached Sophy'a from above; she only barely managed to block it, continuing to retreat back. Lord Erwin assumed a taunting pose and together they walked in a circle, eyeing to see whoever will make the next blow. Sophy'a, seeing an opening, decided to slash at him. She swings the sword to a sideward attack, which Lord Erwin blocks with one hand with ease.

"You lack form. Grace. Imperial training will not save you here." Erwin sets up a fury of the slashes, which all made Sophy'a stumble back, unable to withstand Erwin's powerful attacks. She fell to the ground. Erwin laughed as he began to turn his back on Sophy'a, trying to get cheers from the soldiers that stood watch. _Now's my chance, come here you bastard_. Sophy'a got up quickly and kicked the back of Erwin's Knee, bringing him down to one foot. She brought the sword high for a swing to the neck. Suddenly she was forced back on to the ground, she looked up to see Erwin stand and put the lightsaber to her neck as he stood over her, the sun her eyes and wind howling in the distance. "The Force is my Ally today, good triumphs yet again!" He arrogantly said, all Sophy'a could do was stare _. He used the force, damn cheater_.

She winced, prepared for her end.

The Screech of Starfighters began to fill the air, and then she heard a few soldiers screaming. Gunshots flew off from the ground. Erwin and Sophy'a looked up to see what the soldiers were shooting at.

 _Oh Strang_ ….

an Imperial Capital Cruiser drifted in low orbit menacing on the night side of the planet. Sith fighters began shooting the castle and dropships began to trickle out soldiers into the Castle and the village. The castle began to crumble and shake.

Sophy'a used that opportunity to roll out of the way of the Erwin's lightsaber and sprinted to a Soldier. She stabbed him in the back of the throat and stole his rifle, then snuck down to cover. By the time she took cover behind a piece of rubble that fell from the starship bombing, two dropships came down and dropped off Imperial troopers, which stormed the dueling arena.

The Republic soldiers retreated behind Lord Erwin, who was blocking all the shots taken towards him.

Sophy'a joined her comrades in the cover and picked off the Republic Soldiers, one by one, with clean shots to the head. Screams of pain from the Imperial soldier and Republic soldier's explosions filled the air. Sophy'a felt the smoke in her lungs. As the battle raged on, Sophy'a heard a third shuttle land on the dueling arena.

It was a Sith Fury class Interceptor.

Lightsaber in hand, Darth Marr walked down from the landing ramp. He walked menacingly towards the makeshift front lines, fighting and defending alongside his troops.

Lord Erwin then sprinted from his Soldiers position, eager to take down Darth Marr, cutting any soldier in his way. From the safety of her Trench, she saw Darth Marr and Lord Erwin's lightsabers clash in a brilliant fury of green and red.

It didn't last long however. Darth Marr grabbed Lord Erwin's hand, he dropped his lightsaber, screaming in pain as the Sith crushed the bone. The Sith made a quick stab into Erwin's Abdomen, watching his eyes widen in the pain and realization.

"Charge men! Burn their Mongrel hides!" Darth Marr yelled as he led his troops towards the republic's position.

Sophy'a naturally joined them in the charge.

She stopped, for she was about to step over Lord Erwin, who was still squirming to get his lightsaber. As the Soldiers charged, Sophy'a stopped and looked down. _Pathetic._ With her foot, she rolled the lightsaber far from his reach.

She kneeled down, Erwin met her eyes. "Im…im…possible..." Erwin said with his last few breaths. "Good...Always triumphs..over…evil…aliens…like…you."

Sophy'a turned her head to the side. "Good? Is that why you killed your father?"

Erwin coughed again, blood spitting out his mouth. "it…it was….necessary…"

Sophy'a's anger grew.

"You were blind to the evil and corruption swarming within your order, you were prideful…and arrogant. Maybe one day you will understand." Sophy'a stood up, and stepped on Lord Erwin's throat with her boot, crushing his windpipe.

 _Then again, maybe not._

Sophy'a sat on the rubble, patching her wounds up from the battle.

 _Ahh_ she poured medical alcohol over a scar on her shoulder. _Must've been from the duel._

Imperial troopers were piling up the bodies of their dead comrades. She looked over and saw Darth Marr Pacing in front of a line of Civilians, all with their hands over their heads. Imperial soldiers stood behind them.

Sophy'a patched up her wound then walked over to the line of Civilians.

"Good thing to call us, Agent," Darth Marr said, not turning his attention away from the prisoners. "Now we will be able to push our advance into the core, and I shall lead the charge." Sophy'a nodded and looked down to the prisoners, noticing Servant Kale.

 _He's still alive…_ "What are you going to do to them?"

Darth Marr thought for a bit.

 _It'd be a big waste if he killed off all these people._

"They will stay here and reinforce the Empire's position here on this world. You shall stay here as well Agent, as a representative of the empire. The castle is yours as your embassy." Sophy'a nodded.

"This planet is now run by the Imperial Military." Marr said to the prisoners. "You're only options are to obey or perish. Now, go to your comrades, tell them to begin rebuilding! Off with you all!" The soldiers unchained the prisoners, who soon scurried off to the lower levels of the palace. "The fleet will be here in moments. I have business to attend to on my ship, there are reports of a Republic fleet massing in a nearby system, and I must make sure they are not an issue. Enjoy your stay on the planet, Agent." Marr walked off with a squad of troops to his Shuttle.

Sophy'a saluted as the ship rose off towards the Capital ship, still in low orbit. Someone tapped on her shoulder, with lightning speed; she turned around and found Servant Kale standing behind her, the look of happiness in his eyes.

"You saved me for execution. Tradition states I serve you until the end of my life, as I did with my previous master."

Kale Kneeled down.

"I swear my life to you, Mistress, for all of the sun and moon passes, I shall remain loyal until-"

he was cut off my Sophy'a. "Yes yes kale Get up. I get it, get up."

Kale rose, a fade of red appeared on his cheeks. "My Apologies Miss, now how might I-"

Sophy'a rolled her eyes again, 'Kale, go make sure my castle is in proper shape." Kale nodded and swiftly walked away.

Sophy'a smiled and walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down on the Village, smoke still rising from its structures. _Mission Accomplished, with a few...minor setbacks_. She put her hands behind her back _._

 _Hmm… I needed a Vacation anyway, that pool may have not received too much damage in the battle…_ _plus I'm filthy._ Sophy'a then turned and hastily walked towards the exit, eager for her skin to feel the water's cold embrace.

The End


	2. Chapter 1

Sophy'a's senses reached out as she listened deep in the forest. To most, the Forest would have been as quiet as the grave. To her, the Forest was greatly alive, with the small hum of life coming from every direction.

 _It was beautiful,_ She thought to herself.

The light had began to dim, but her prey was still out there. She looked around on the ground, feeling the dirt. _Tracks,_ She pursued them. The leaves crunched under her boot as she jogged, hunting down her Prey. Finally she reached a clearing. Her prey, a Wild Boren, was grazing the pasture around twenty meters in front of her. She pulled out her hunting rifle that was slung across her back. Setting it on the rock, she aimed her scope down and set the sights on the beast's eyes. Her breath was at a constant pace, condensing into the chilly forest air. She calmed herself and edged her finger on the trigger. Just as she was about to take the shot, the animal rose up into the air. _What in the Force?_ Sophy'a descoped in disbelief as the Boran rose up, then, crashed to the ground. She heard the snap of a bone, and the Boren lay still, _Dead_. Sophy'a put her rifle away and walked up to the corpse.

"Score one for me" She heard a voice say.

Sophy'a recognized the voice immediately.

"You know," Sophy'a said, "It would have been wise to warm me before I took position in those rocks, had I missed and shot you…" her voice trailed off.

Veranlea smiled and removed a leaf from her hair, her neat bun and pristine hunting gear a sharp contrast to Sophy'a's dirty armor. "Well I thought it was boring, and besides, you are a trained professional, you would not have missed anyway."

Sophy'a rolled her eyes at the Dark Council member's insight and unsheathed a decorated hunting knife. Kneeling down, she began to skin the Animal, cutting into its coarse leathery skin. "It's kind of you to care thought." Veranlea said she crossed her arms and began to pace the ground behind Sophy'a.

"Sometimes I wonder why I bother." Sophy'a said as she cut into the belly.

Veranlea chuckled and smirked, "you've known me for too long, you have no choice anymore" The familiar memories of Veranlea filled her mind; By her side through thick and thin; It brought a smile to her face. "Quite true, my old friend".

Sophy'a ripped out the Intestines of the Animal, and set them separate from the pile of Organs.

Veranlea's nose scrunched, "I never got used to the smell of corpses." Sophy'a said nothing. "What ARE we going to do with those anyway?"

Sophy'a didn't look up as she answered, "The Intestines of the Boren are natural antibiotics." Veranlea sat herself down on a rock.

"Living on this planet for this long has done things to you." She Paused, "I need visit you more often, get you away from here." Sophy'a took out the heart of the Beast. "What's changed on Dromound Kass since last I was there?"

Veranlea chucked, "Guess"

Sophy'a said instantly, "it is still pouring, dark, and adolescent Sith play jokes on their lords by painting their statues different colours as usual?"

"Bingo"

They both laughed. Sophy'a finished ripping through the animal's insides and put the useful meat into her pack. "There, that wasn't too long was it? Let's head back."

Veranlea jumped up eagerly, "Finally, i've been waiting for this dinner for ages!".

...

"Kale, that was a wonderful dinner, I haven't eaten like that in ages!" Veranlea said, slumping in her chair. Sophy'a herself was stuffed.

"Kale is a wonderful cook" Sophy'a said, her eyelids lazily starting to go over her red eyes. Kale Smiled as he stood in the middle of the table, between Veranlea and Sophy'a, "It was a pleasure Milady, always happy to be of service!" He gathered the empty plates and walked to the cart, where he would take them to be washed.

"Always the Gentlemen, that Kale." Sophy'a mulled out loud. Veranlea chuckled, "Ah, he is quite a good catch, lucky you, you got a cute guy serving your every request."

They both laughed, "Vern!" Sophy'a yelled playfully, blushing. "What?" Veranlea questioned, with a mischievous smile.

Kale walked back into the room, "If you will, Miss," Kale said extending his hand, "I shall escort you to your quarters for tonight". Veranlea slowly lifted up her arms and took his hand, lifting herself off the chair, "Guess it is pretty late." She began to walk towards the door.

"Goodnight Vern, Enjoy your evening!" Sophy'a called after her.

Veranlea winked and said, "talk to you in the morning Sofi!" then walked to the door.

Sophy'a took another look at Kale. _He really wasn't half bad._ Just as the two were about to leave, Kale then looked back to Sophy'a, "Oh Mistress, your subscription to _Cipher fashion Weekly_ has expired" this earned a laugh from Veranlea and immense shame from Sophy'a.

"Ill handle it later Kale!"

Kale nodded and escorted a laughing Veranlea out the door. Sophy'a groaned. _Hope Veranlea at least enjoyed hunting for her dinner tonight._ She thought, resting her hands on her bulging stomach. _At least tastes much better than those Imperial Rations that taste like the colour Grey._ Deciding it was rather late, Sophy'a decided to get going to her own quarters as well. She stood up and walked towards her suite; the main bedroom of the Castle. As she walked down the hallway, She heard a Man's voice call out for her.

It was Sergeant Orider, a strongly build Human Male with rough features and short buzzcut, his face freshly shaven.

"Sir," Orider gasped as he caught up with Sophy'a, "The Fleet report just came in, we are not to expect the ships we sent out to return to Orbit for another few weeks," a confused look loomed over Sophy'a's face,"They were distracted at a star system nearby by, reason unknown."

Sophy'a's eyebrows scrunched. _It was disturbing news._ "What's their status?"Orider's face darkened,

"They report Green Sir, everything apparently is going well." he said skeptically. Sophy'a thought for a moment.

"Orders Sir?" Orider said hastily.

"Position the fleet in a defensive grid on the System, just in case. Dismissed." She said, the Sergeant saluted her and jogged off to carry out her orders.

Sophy'a sighed, she almost missed the days of fighting in epic grand battles. She shrugged the thought off, her duty now was to get some R&R.

 _Perhaps i could take Veranlea hiking up in the Mountains tomorrow, she's never been up there before._ Sophy'a walked into her room, looking around, she remembered the King who lived in this very room before it. As soon as she threw his old bed out the Window, it became quite a cozy living quarters for herself. It was spacious, with purple carpets and curtains adorning the room. A small den, Desk with a Console mounted on the wall, and her bed were the only furniture in the room. Her bed was delivered from a factory on Dromund Kass was in the corner, giving her a view of the Mordan'Moran sunset. A door on the left wall led into a grand bathroom and closet. Sophy'a changed into the Black Sleepwear the Imperial Military Provides.

 _Ugh, bland. I much prefer my own style._ Red Eyes looked back at her as she saw her reflection in the window. She untied her hair and let it loose on her shoulders. Behind her, the Sun of Mordan'Moran was setting in a bright dance of Orange and Yellow, with red hazing in. Rolling her Shoulders, she climbed upon the bed and pulled the covers over her slender body. Staring up into the ceiling, her mind slowly drifted off into a deep slumber.

...

Veranlea breathed heavily as she slept. She was in a meadow, running from a cloud of swirling darkness that consumed the landscape around her. There was a terrible laugh echoing between her ears. She tripped and fell on the ground. Rolling, she looked to see the Sun be blocked out as the Dark cloud consumed her. From the Shadows a man emerged, Old and worn, his eyes glowing dark red. He looked down upon Veranlea, who could do nothing but watch as the man raised his hand, pulling Veranlea up by the throat. The Man looked at her and emitted a dead growling laugh.

She awoke to the sound of a Crash. She looked around Frantically. She was in the room Sophy'a hand lent her, the same that Kale had led her to. She moved to the edge of the bed and ran her hands through her long white hair, trying to make sense of the dream. Her head turned to the window, a pillar of smoke caught her eye. It was faint, but obvious. She looked to her Nightstand, where her lightsaber lay, Its hilt shinning under the moonlight. Quickly, she equipped a purple Sith robe and tucked the lightsaber in her belt. She got up and took one more look at the smoke, _it wasn't very far._ She made for the door and walked down the hall until she noticed Sophy'a sleeping in the room next to her. Fondness grew in her heart as she saw Sophy'a sleeping comfortably on her bed. She was like a sister to Veranlea, saved her life more times then she could count. _, I'll be right back_ she mouthed and continued walking towards one of the Palace Exits, the same exit she and Sophy'a had used mere hours ago. She opened the door, a blast of frosty air hit her. She wrapped her robe around herself tighter. Veranlea began to walk down through the Forest, towards the ominous pillar of smoke.

...

The Sun Shinned bright upon Sophy'a's face as morning crept up on her.

"Rise and Shine Mistress Sophy'a!" Kale said as he opened the blinds.

Sophy'a angrily flipped over and squeezed her head under her Pillow. "Strang Kale, five more minutes!" She remarked.

Kale merely smiled, "I simply wanted to know what the Mistress wanted to prepare for breakfast for her and her guest." Some of Sophy'a's anger faded away. "Prepare some Hotcakes with Nerf Sausage". Kale nodded and walked off.

Sophy'a breathed growled and flipped the covers off her. Her Belly was exposed and she felt her hair being an absolute Mess. A yawn surprised her and and her cheek needed a scratch. Reluctantly, she got off the bed and took a santi-steem in her bathroom. After drying herself and combing her hair so it was curled on the edges, she got out walked down the Hallway, noticing that Veranlea's room was wide open.

 _Odd._ She walked in to find the sheets have been thrown off, and her lightsaber and robes were missing.. _Even More Odd, if she were to wake up this early, it was usually to "Test my senses" as she called it and tackle me to the ground as just i'm waking up._ Sophy'a put her senses on high alert, for that still may be a possibility.

Kale was just Corning the Hallway. "Ah Mistress Sophy'a, you look wonderful as always!" Sophy'a groaned internally, but knew he was just trying to be nice.

"Wheres Veranlea Kale?" Kale Looked into Veranlea's room, coming to the same conclusion as Sophy'a. "I cannot say for sure Mistress Sophy'a, She left mere hours ago. Perhaps Mistress Veranlea went for a walk."

Sophy'a nodded and pondered for a bit. _It was Possible._ "Thanks Kale." Sophy'a said as she headed back to her suite to change into something more Durable. Kale chased after her,

"Mistress! Your Breakfast will be ready soon…" Sophy'a pulled on a pair of boots. "You may eat Kale, i will go see where Veranlea has gone." Kale nodded and ran back down the Hallway. Sophy'a finished gearing up and grabbed a Pistol. The thing almost called to her. She shrugged, _Eh, Who knows._ She grabbed the Pistol and a few power packs and clipped them to her belt. She looked towards the Window when something caught her eye as well, an incredibly light pillar of smoke. _Veranlea's campsite?_ Deciding it was worth checking out, she walked out of the room and began to walk towards the door.

...

The nocturnal animals of the Forest began their slumber as Sophy'a made her way down to the Pillar of continued walking through the forest, eyeing the calm peace nature brought. The Smoke was closer to her now. She advanced further when she saw an odd metallic object in the distance behind a brush of trees. She stopped for a moment and brought out her pistol, _I Have a bad feeling about this._ She loaded a power pack into the Pistol, hearing the small Satisfying Hiss as the Powerpack charged the Pistol. She drew it and walked slowly towards the now clear object. It was bright and golden sitting in a crater. The Trees around it were scorched.

"Its a Probe of some sort" an alarmed Sophy'a drew her pistol and aimed it to where the noise was coming from. Veranlea walked out from behind the Probe. Sophy'a breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his Pistol. "Strang Vern, It's not like any kind of Probe Ive ever seen."

Veranlea laughed, "Sofi you have been stuck here for almost half a year, i'm not surprised." Sophy'a examined the probe again. She pulled out a small computer from her pocket and began to scan it, trying to cross reference the model with known Republic Probe droids. Her Eyes glanced off to Veranlea, who had her eyes closed and concentrated. Suddenly the burst wide open, Horror on her face. A Rumbling hummed throughout the Forest. She pointed back, and Sophy'a's mouth open wide as unknown Dreadnoughts hovered over her castle. They both began to raced back to the Castle.

...

The Village was in flames. The Dreadnoughts hanged above the buildings, deploying enemy troopers to battle against the Imperial defenders. Veranlea and Sophy'a ran hand in hand throughout the hallways of the castle. Rubble and broken glass mixed with the air and flew everywhere like party favors. A message beeped on Sophy'a's Wristcomm.

"Commander!" they both stopped. "Enemy troops have invaded the city, they're overwhelming our position at the entrance! We got it under control, but we cant hold them off forever!" Oriders voice yelled through, static leaving out a few of his vowels. The Castle rumbled again, Sophy'a and Veranlea stumbled and regained their balance. They both looked outside the blown out Hallway window. The mysterious Dreadnoughts clouded the sky, raining lasers upon the city, which stood helpless as more Enemy troops marched towards the Castle.

"Orders Commander?!" The Wristcomm yelled out. Sophy'a clicked the response key, "Orider, get your men evacuated, I'll meet you in the hanger!" A Pause. "Yes Commander, I'll, Wait, WHO ARE THOSE TWO- AHH" The Wristcomm went dead silent. Veranlea and Sophy'a looked at each other "Sounds like hes got everything under control?" Veranlea asked. Sophy'a looked over to Veranlea, "Vern!" she said in horror. But then laughed, "let's go to the hangers." Veranlea said. they both sprinted down the hallway.

...

The Entrances to the Hanger was a battlefield. The remaining Imperial soldiers were surrounded by enemy Soldiers, who advanced on their position. Veranlea ignited her lightsaber and cut down the enemy soldiers in front of her, clearing her way to the Imperial's position. Sophy'a picked up another Pistol from a fallen Imperial officer and wielded it with her own, taking down more Enemy soldiers. Sparks spilled from their torsos as the lasers hit their mark.

 _Droids. They were droids._

Veranlea was moving throughout the scattered cloud of droids, slicing them into bits. After the last of the Droids fell, the Men gathered around Sophy'a.

"To the Shuttles!" Gesturing to the two Imperial shuttles that were docked at the end of the hanger. They began to run towards the Shuttles when more shots rang out; Droids were entering the hangar and giving them chase.

"Sir!" one of the men yelled at her as tugged on the Shuttle doors, "The Shuttles are locked." Her troops kneeled down and took position and defended themselves against the massive wave of droids that came their way. Sophy'a heard Kale's voice on her wristcomm.

"Mistress, I am at the Hangar control room," Sophy'a looked up and saw Kale busy typing in at a console, "I can disable the locks on the ships and open up the hangar doors. One moment." She heard a Hiss come from the shuttles. "Done, you are now free to-"

An explosion consumed the hanger control room, sending Kale's body flying. It landed a few meters away from the shuttles entrance. "Kale!" Sophy'a screamed as she ran out. Veranlea's eyes open wide as she saw Sophy'a run out, more enemy soldiers were pouring out from The doors. "Sofi!" She screamed out, lightsaber in hand, and then she looked back at the soldiers. "Well don't just stand there! Cover her!" the Troopers nodded and formed a circle, Veranlea deflecting the majority of the incoming fire.

Sophy'a looked down at Kale, his breathing hard. "We'll get you a doctor!" Sophy'a blurted out, checking Kale's heartbeat. It was slowing down. Kale then put his hand atop of hers. "You….you saved my life….today….today I save yours…my debt…has been…repaid" Kale said as he breathed his last breath. Sophy'a was forming tears in her eyes. She kept repeating no, pounding his chest, thinking it would bring him back to life, but Kale was dead.

"Grab her!" said Veranlea, the enemy Droids advancing. There were two figures jumped out of the now scorched Hanger command center, one in a dark robe, and the other in a light robe, with a mask covering half his face. They had their lightsabers drawn, deflecting incoming lightsaber bolts. Two soldiers took Sophy'a by the arms and forced her into the shuttle. Veranlea, covering their escape, made it into the shuttle with time to spare. Out of the Corner of her eye, Veranlea saw the two figured commanders run up to the shuttle, lightsabers in hand.

"Takeoff pilot!" yelled Veranlea, who then tried to strap a Crying Sophy'a into a chair. The Shuttles took off, flying into the air. Suddenly another cruiser from orbit appeared in front of them in an attempt to stop them. They opened fire, the ships rocked from side to side. As Sophy'a was still crying, Veranlea wiped a tear from her cheek. Her head, like Veranlea's, was dirty and covered in sweat. She looked Sophy'a straight in the eyes and said "Don't worry, we'll be fine." She tried to smile, Sophy'a in turned, smiled back. Then, as if the Force was trying to prove her wrong, the pilot heard on the radio from the other shuttle. "Mayday Mayday! We're hit! We are going down! Repeat! We are going do-" the Signal was mysteriously cut off. From outside the cockpit window, Veranlea and Sophy'a watched as the second shuttle burst into flames. Their own shuttle took a violent shack, an error alarm began to sound, the Pilot screamed, then sat silent, blood on the controls. "We're going down! Brace for impact!" Veranlea yelled. Sophy'a was still in shock, and she began to get a panicked look on her face. Veranlea grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

She closed her eyes and called upon the force, trying to conjure up a protective shield. The Shuttle crashed violently in the woodlands below.

...

Veranlea woke to the sound of an aircraft flying overhead. Groaning, she examined her body, her robes were covered in mud and ash, with burnt patches peppering it, but overall was in good condition.. She looked around. The Shuttle was still in flames. The bodies of dead soldiers lay around her. It was night, dark with the haze of fire in the distance, but she managed to sense Sophy'a, she was lying on the ground nearby her. Veranlea ran towards her, kneeled down, and put her finger on her neck,

 _A Pulse, She was alive,_ she thought.

Suddenly a spotlight was shined on her. A gunship now hovered a few meters away from the crash site. Its doors opened, revealing three mysterious figures. Two jumped off the shuttle, landing on the cold ground with a thud. Veranlea sense a dark presence in them. The two figures ignited their lightsabers, it's blazing Yellow standing out as beacons in the night. She squinted, and then saw who the two were. It was those two commanders who she saw in the Hanger. She noticed they look exactly the same. One of them wore a mask had a mechanical arm and numerous scars on his bald head, while the one in black was relatively clean, much clean compared to herself and Sophy'a, who still lay unconscious. Veranlea got up and walked towards them cautiously "A Dark Council Member, you're connection to the Force is Strong, Darth Imperious." The One in the mask said. Veranlea was shocked that they knew her title. "We shall give you a choice." Said the one in black. "Come willingly, or we shall take you by force." She shivered under the cold breeze. Out of the corner of her eye, Sophy'a stirred. She put a determined look on her face, and then retrieved her lightsaber from her belt, igniting it, it's purple glow laminating the surrounding area. "I won't let that happen." She said sternly, placing herself in a defensive stance. The one in black looked over to the one in white, who shrugged.

"So be it…"The masked one said.

He was the first to strike. Veranlea parried his yellow blade with ease; the other tried to follow up on his ally's strike, but failed to touch her as well. The masked one move to her side and attempted a low blow at her legs, while the Blacked robe one tried to slice at her head. She ducked as the lightsaber swung over her head and quickly brought her saber down so it met with her ankle. Veranlea in turn made a swing around her body, forcing her opponents to back away from her. She then moved to attack stance, exchanging blows between then Masked and Black robed commander. Thunder and lightning boomed in the distance as the battle ensued, their blades locked in a brilliant dance of Yellow and purple. The two commanders attempted a simultaneous blow to Veranlea's head. She ducked, letting the two Yellow lightsabers meet above her. Then, calling upon the force, used it to push both opponents back a few meters. Recovering, the two circled around her, pointing their blades at Veranlea, who herself was walking in a smaller circle, concentrating on the battle. Rain began to emanate smoke from the ignited plasma blades. The two then moved simultaneously, one going towards a blow to her head, the other going for her waist. She blocked the blow coming to her waist, then dodging her way out of the upper blow. Swirling around, she ended up in a defensive stance with both men in front of her. The assault of blows continued until the one in the black robes managed to leave himself exposed. She used the force to slam him into a nearby tree, leaving him dazed and incapacitated.

Then she continued her offensive on the Masked one. She locked lightsabers with him, seeing the fury in his eyes, compared to the calm concentrated look in her own. Using the opportunity, she swirled around the lock, smacking the Masked one on the flesh portion of his head with the hilt of her blade. A muffled shout from the masked man echoed throughout the forest.

Then, using her lightsaber, made a quick cut to his thigh. He heard the masked one scream again, slipping over the now wet mud that formed during the battle. She took a resting stance, having her saber by her hip. Her white hair and face was wet and her body sore. The Black robed one was lightly stirring, using his injured hand to get up, and the masked one was lying in the mud, screaming about the cut on his thigh. She began to walk towards the Black robed one when she felt a piercing pain in her shoulder.

 _Stun Dart. It had to be._ She screamed as loud as she could, Trying to make it through the pain. But her senses overloaded. She fell to the floor, her lightsaber rolling out of her hand. She saw in the distance Sophy'a's unconscious body. She tried to reach towards her, tried calling out her name, but eventually succumbed to the dart. And then everything went silent.

...

Captain Carmari looked from the scope of his rifle, then out into the open. He used the safety cord to help himself down to the surface. He said nothing as he watched as Commander Thexan picked up Commander Arcaan from off the ground. He merely looked at them and nodded. He picked up the Sith Women who he had shot.. He took one last look at the now wet forest. The Shuttle still burned, the fire giving light to the bodies of Soldiers who lay on the ground. He noticed specifically a quite beautiful alien lady who lay among the others as well. He shook his head. _Unneeded bloodshed, but mission accomplished._

 _..._

Sophy'a stirred, she could not hear, could not speak, could not move, and only see. She saw him, Him; The man who took Veranlea. She tried to scream out for him to put her down, but she simply couldn't. She was in mud now; the rain had done much to churn the dirt into a slippery sloppy mud. She watched helplessly as felt her whole world crash under her.

A tear slipped from her eye and onto her cheek.. She could feel her body regain feeling. _Everything was sore._ She tried to get up, but was too weak. She tried to get up again, this time succeeding, bringing herself to one knee. she had to find shelter. _There, in the shuttle_ , she saw that half the shuttle was still intact. As more lightning flashed, she saw something glint in the distance. It was Veranlea's lightsaber. She slowly moved towards it, grabbing it with her hand. It beautiful encrusted hilt was a marvel of craftsmanship. She gathered all her strength to make it to her feet. She slowly walked to the shuttle. Sitting in a seat, she tried to sleep, but all she could do was stare at the lightsaber. They trained her not to feel emotion, not to feel pain, not to feel at all. She was trained to be tough. It was her feelings and emotions, however, that gave her strength, but they also manage to tear a hole in her heart. She missed her. She was the one friend she had left, and now she was gone. More tears formed on Sophy'a's eyes and she began to sob.

 _The Rain blends with tears, no one would notice them_ _._ Sophy'a then looked around, and then gave a slight chuckle at the redundancy of that thought.

 _Then again, why is there need to hide when nobody's watching?_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Veranlea awoken with a start. Immediately she tried moving her arms and legs, with no avail. She was suspended in midair, Energy cuffs held her in place as she floated in her prison. She looked down to see the two commanders she had faced mere moments ago pacing the floor.

 _Mere Moments? How long HAS it been? Hours? Weeks? Months?_

"She's Awake Thexan." The one in the Mask said, with a hint of anger in his voice.

Veranlea noticed bandages wrapping around his leg, he was probably still irritated after their duel. His Wounds haven't had time to heal, it hasn't been that long then.

"Greetings, Darth Imperius." The black robed one, Thexan, said in a cool charming voice. "Allow me to Introduce ourselves," The Black robed man bowed politely. "I am Prince Thexan of the Eternal Empire, and here is Prince Arcaan" he saw the man in the white nod gruffly. Veranlea looked at both of them, saying nothing in response. "SIlence will not save you, Sith." Arcaan said, his voice muffled and changed behind his mask. "Come Brother, we must be going." Thexan looked back at Veranlea, his hands crossed, "You Shall soon meet our father, My dear Sith, I suggest you make it easier for yourself, and show respect."With one glancing look, Thexan opened the door and exited along with his brother. The door shut with a loud hiss, now the only sound that filled the room where the energy binders. Veranlea looked around in the room, looked for any chance to escape, there was none. She felt a presence in the room with her, despite everyone leaving. Before she could call out to it, a Gas filtered into the Prison Cell, and everything went black.

...

The Prattle in the Cantina was the standard variety of unintelligible gibberish. Darth Icarus's face scrunched up at how simply unpleasant it all was. She looked around, noticing a Twi'lek and a Rodian engaging in sexual activities in the darkest corner of the building. Repulsive. In the other corner of the Cantina, Strange Aliens were yelling over a win at the gambling table near the bar. Icarus's thoughts drifted to the temptation of ending their miserable lives, it was all so very disheartening for her, then reminded herself of her mission. She tugged on the Bartenders Shirt and asked for a glass of Heavy Correlian Whisky.

The Bartender handed her a small wooden cup. Wood; now that's a material she had only seen in fine decorations. Putting the cup to her lips, she let the liquid roll down her throat and felt its warm presence in her abdomen. It was too sour. They overdid the mixture of ingredients. She would have to "confront" the Company about this one day, but for now, it was barely tolerable. She took another sip, her eyes glancing across the room. She channeled the force, trying to find any sort of clue as to where her objective was. A Man caught her attention, he was muscular, bald. with a bushy mustache and freckled face. He wore the fading shoulder plating of an Imperial soldier on top of a torn undershirt. Icarus pulled on her cloak, making sure he didn't catch her gaze. The rest of the whisky entered her stomach with a long chug, and then a coin was left on the Stone bar. She walked over to the man, who was drinking some other liquid they served in this ghastly place.

"Why Hello there," She said cunningly, she needed to get this man on her side.

The Man barely looked up to her and grunted a greeting. "I couldn't help but notice the Imperial Insignia on your shoulder, have you ever served here?" She asked, trying to use the force to persuade the man to answer her question. The man chuckled,

"Yea sweetheart I served here, 5th Imperial army regiment. Not like that means anything now." He took a big swig of his mug and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Icarus pressed on,

"Any chance you know of where your commander was during your tour here? I believe she was a Chiss?" this time Icarus drew deep on the Force, compelling his weak mind to bend to her will, jogging his memory.

Something changed in the Ex Soldier's' eyes,

"I don't know where she is. Dead most likely. but I did see a Chiss Woman walk around near the marketplace…" The Man said with a hypnotic tone in his voice.

Icarus smiled and released the Man from her Influence. Satisfied, she stood up, looking around the bar one last time. She began to walk off when she felt a hand reach for her behind. Her eyes filled with surprise as she looked down and saw the man give her a lusty smile. Without any hesitation, she ignited her lightsaber that she kept hidden within her sleeve. The patrons of the cantina all looked towards the man as he screamed in pain, trying to clutch an arm that was now on the floor, his blood pouring onto the ground. Icarus took advantage of the dim lighting and, using the force, cloaked herself in the shady undertones of the bar. She walked out of the Cantina as if nothing ever happened.

...

The black cloak she wore gave her more questionable looks to come towards her as she entered the Dusty city marketplace. Her eyes wandered around for the look of a Chiss female with light blue skin and Jet black hair. That was how the records, or what was left of them, described her. Those were the perks of being a Darth, after all. The one thing the records didn't give her was a name. Then again, this WAS Imperial Intelligence. Insolent fools. A Human male began to puke irkingly as Icarus walked by him, probably from something he ate at the stalls. It was filthy and disorganized, much different than the environment that Icarus was used to. She almost had the urge to puke herself as all the smells and sights assaulted her. A certain voice brought her out of her thoughts, a feminine voice that was rough and worn, was distinctly Imperial. A little later, she saw a woman being thrown out of a store. An Angry Sullestian was yelling at her, holding a large butchers knife.

"That's the last time you try to cheat me you little puke!" The dirty Alien said in a croaky voice as he approached the Women.

As the Women tried to back away, crawling backwards in the dirts, Icarus noticed that the hands scratching the dirt0 were a shade of light blue. The Sullestian soon found himself armless as Icarus stood in between him and the Women. The Aggressor barely had time to scream out in pain before Icarus called upon the dark side of the force and, with a simple hand gesture, threw the man back into his store. His head hit a shelf, knocking him unconscious, possibly killing him; either way, didn't matter to her. She sheathed her lightsaber and glanced down onto the women. She was definitely a Chiss, with light blue skin and deep red eyes, a scar on her cheek. She wore a torn up tunic and her boots were ripping apart. "Get up." She said coldly. The Women struggled to get off the ground and ended up at a hunched stand, her hand clutching her sides. Icarus could see blood seeping out of her fingers. The women began to open her mouth, but Icarus cut her off.

"Not here, lead me to your dwelling…or else..." she said, patting the lightsaber in her hand. The Force was a majestic thing, for it could cast fear into those around her. The Chiss women nodded and slowly led her to a shabby block with one door and one window.

When the Chiss women opened the door and let her in, Icarus was assaulted with another spectrum of smells and stenches. It was a hive of dirt and other items strewn across the room. The door locked behind her and Icarus heard a click. She looked back to see the Women aiming a pistol at her head; An Imperial model as well.

"Now is that any way to treat a guest, Cipher 9?" Icarus said as she stared into the muzzle of the gun, then looked straight into the Woman's red eyes.

"Guest is a subjective term, Sith" Icarus considered what the Agent's words. She was playing a game.

"What is it you want, why are you here?" the women said.

Icarus shrugged, "Was just passing through…"

The agents brow scrunched and she adjusted her holding on the weapon. "Sith are not good liars"

Icarus then said, "I am in need of your expertise." the two paced the the den, not taking their eyes off each other, waiting, anticipating any sort of movement from the other.

"What would i have to offer to you, I am a nobody" the women asked cautiously, with a defeatist tone.

Icarus smiled. "I have information that may be of use to you, should you supply me with what i want. It will be be yours. You will have the means to find a certain Darth, i believe her name is Darth…" She tapped her chin playfully. "Darth….Imperious! There." Icarus felt recognition in the Cipher's eyes. She slowly lowered her Blaster. "Do we have a deal?" Icarus said, extending her hand. The Cipher agent thought for a moment.

"Deal….What is the name the Sith gave you…Darth...lord..?" The women asked, with a hint of cheekiness.

"Darth Icarus." She said, cynically. "Now your name. " The agent grabbed her hand politely and shook it.

"Sophy'a, a Pleasure." Icarus drew her hand faster, a bit more faster than needed. She adjusted her posture, with her nose above Sophy'a. "

Meet me and Docking Port 9, and please, do try not to be late…" She opened the door,

"We have work to do."

...

The Door closed as Icarus walked out.

Sophy'a sighed. _Well that was interesting_.

Sophy'a holstered her pistol into the covert pocket on her belt where she kept it. She walked over to a cabinet, grabbed a Medipack, and sat on the couch as she began to patch the wound on her side.

 _It wasn't really that bad._ Sophy'a winced as she poured Alcohol to clean the wound. Sophy'a got lost in her thoughts. T _he Galaxy has no place for someone like me_ she thought as she noticed how lonely she was in the Galaxy. Her Empire had abandoned her, everyone she knew, even Veranlea, her greatest friend, a treasure, was taken away from her. She had given up hope, left to rot away on a hostile world.

 _At least, Until Icarus came._ Then she was reminded,

 _Icarus wants something, everyone does...what Angle is she playing at, what cards does she hold?_

Sophy'a finished dressing her wound and walked over to her bedroom. She began to pack up her belongings. A familiar object greeted her eye. It was a Lightsaber, Vernalea's lightsaber. Its encrusted hilt shined in the darkly lit room. Sophy'a held it for a while in her hand, feeling the weight of it on her hand. Snapping out of her trance, she stashed the saber into her pack. Putting on a poncho, she stood up and with one last look, left the Hutt that served as a home for many years. _Only one way to find out..._

 _..._

Darth Icarus was waiting for her right near the docking bay. Sophy'a could tell because Icarus was the only one who stood up straight, like a noble, in a sea of Hunched and broken backs. Sophy'a ducked in an ally, for two Eternal Empire Security droids walked passed her, Scanning for potential troublemakers and thieves, a common sight on Mordan'Moran. A flash or memory brought her back to the Sullestion who had thrown her out a window for "Cheating" Her.

 _Glad he's gone._ She thought.

When she reached her, Icarus was leaning against a lamp post. "Well...shall we?" Sophy'a asked, implicitly nodding towards the spaceport. Icarus, however, raised her finger. Sophy'a saw that she was scanning the market crowd, between her and the Spaceport.

S _omething was...off._

Suddenly a loud crash. "You little Pukes, no one messes with my brother!"

Sophy'a and Icarus both looked to where the sound came from. It was another Sullestian, this time he was taller, and a bit more plump. He held up a pistol and was flanked by four deadly assassin droids. "Skin them alive!"

Sophy'a and Icarus made for the spaceport, the walls behind them scorching from near missed blaster bolts.

"Well glad to be back on the run" Sophy'a joked, earning no response from Icarus. screams rang out and people began to run from the marketplace.

The Security droids that ran over to where the chaos was taking place were destroyed by well placed shots by the Assassin Droids. The Two ran into the spaceport, jumping over the customs office. An alarm rang out. The beings in the line yelled in protest and when the customs officer yelled out to them, they too were shot by the Assassin droids, who gave chase, the Sullestian right behind them, flailing his arms.

"Where's your ship?" Sophy'a yelled out, running into the Ship parking lot, a laser bolt flying past her head. "Choose one!" Icarus cried. Sophy'a was in disbelief for a moment. _She doesn't even have a ship?_ Sophy'a looked at the docked ships.

"There!" Sophy'a pointed out a small freighter, with the owner, standing at the docking ramp, talking to a customs official. Sophy'a heard the sound of a Lightsaber igniting, Icarus Ran past Sophy'a and stabbed the Customs guard, his body crumpling to the floor. The Owner looked at Icarus with utter surprise, but then was pushed into the wall by Icarus, who used the force to push him inside. Icarus made a jerking motion with her head and Sophy'a ran inside, the Assassin droids were right on their tail. They recalled the landing ramp, locking themselves safely in the ship.

Have you flown a ship before?" Icarus said. Sophy'a sat herself in the pilot seat and cracked her knuckles.

"Of course" she assured. _If she should be trusting anyone, it's the one who actually managed to find a way off planet_. She hit a few buttons on the console.

A groan sounded from the interior of the ship. Sophy'a heard Icarus sigh. "Handle it" Sophy'a commanded. Icarus, Reluctantly, headed towards the Interior. The Ship lifted off.

Bolts from the Assassin droids hit the ship, and the Sullestian, reluctantly, gave up his attack, throwing his arms up in frustration.

...

The Ship rumbled as it flew higher in Mordan'Moran Atmosphere. Sophy'a was busy figiting around on the controls, switching systems on and off and pressing numerous buttons. She flinched as she heard a chilling scream come from the bowels of the ship. "Icarus!" Sophy'a said, "Do try not to get blood everywhere!" The screaming stopped and Icarus reappeared with a smile on her face on the deck of the ship, Sophy'a noticed that her nails and her chin was stained with fresh blood. Sophy'a felt a hint of guilt for the man who owned this ship previously. Shaking the thought out, she looked out the viewport, seeing two of the Eternal Empire T-shaped Dreadnaughts heading their way.

"There's two cruisers heading our way." Icarus pointed out.

 _Wonderful, she has the ability to point out the obvious._

As if she could read her thoughts, Sophy'a earned a mean look from Icarus. Let me focus on flying. A red light on the comlink began to flash.

"Answer it" Icarus Commanded. Sophy'a keyed on the comlink,

"Unidentified vessel, This is Captain Carmari of the Sector 5 Defense force, Surrender and we will spare your ship and your lives." Sophy'a ignored the call.

"Well, aren't you going to answer them? We don't want to be stopped here on this desolate planet." Icarus complained.

"As Soon as we are in hyperspace we won't need to worry about the Eternal Empire." Sophy'a said irritated, inputting coordinates into the Navcomputor.

"Unidentified vessel, please respond, otherwise we will take extreme measures." Sophy'a ignored the call again. Suddenly booms and bright lights appeared outside the viewport. The Eternal Empire were shooting at them.

"They're firing on us!" Icarus said, urging Sophy'a to hurry. Wonderful Sophy'a simply groaned inside and put it the final calculations in the computer. "Hold on to something." Sophy'a pulled a level and soon the ships viewport was filled with a masterpiece of blue light as the ship escaped the Eternal Empire.

...

Carmari looked outside his viewport as the ship escaped into the deep reaches of space. "We lost em captain"

Carmari stroked his freshly shaven chin. "Orders sir?" his Officer asked. "No need to worry about them, Head back to the Station, we have our orders ."

armari said, as he turned to look down on Mordan'moran. He felt regret for what they were doing to the planet. He adjusted his collar and looked at his young face in the reflection. He shook his head, he wondered if what he was doing was right. Looking back down onto the planet, a thought came into his mind, A _ll in Service to the Empire, Victory or Death._ He reminded himself. _That was their motto, their creed. Still,_ Carmari thought, _Something was...missing._

 _..._

"There, that was easy, wasn't it?" Icarus said.

Sophy'a stood up and stretched her arms. She decided that half the things coming out of Icarus's mouth really was not worth responding to. The light of Hyperspace disappeared in the cockpit and instead the viewport was filled with a brilliant display of stars and nebulas. She passed Icarus and walked out of the cockpit and into the Den of the ship. It was wide open space, with a miniature staircase in the middle of the room leading to a sunken couch with a Holochess table in the middle. Crates and shelves occupied the other walls of the room.

"Where is the owner?" Sophy'a asked, remembering the Man whose ship they had merely "borrowed" moments ago.

"Im looking at her" Icarus said walking past Sophy'a, ignoring her confused look, She walked over to the Couch and plumped herself down, putting her feet on top of the Holo-chess table. The Odd look on Sophy'a's face continued as she stared at Icarus, and Icarus stared right back. Blood still stained Icarus's face.

 _The Blood…_

Sophy'a now noticed as the Stench of blood that lingered the air. Holding her breath, she walked over and quickly shut the door, not even bothering to look at what remained inside. The Smells filtered out eventually.

Sophy'a began scavenging through the cargo boxes picking out tools and wires. Something did Catch Sophy'a's eye. It was a holo portrait a man and a young human women who wrapped his arm around his waist. They looked towards her with beaming smiles.

"Why are we not in hyperspace, Cipher Nine?" Icarus said, her head facing the light above. Sophy'a was shaken out of her trance "The Hyperspace jump was made so that it would take us outside the system, from there, it's your game, Sith." Sophy'a said, putting down the holo portrait and rummaged through another box.

"I Sense an amount of Anger in your voice…" Icarus Paused, "Good….very good." Goodness Sophy'a exclaimed, _She really is a lunatic, Hope that information, however, is not of the same nature. She doesn't seem to be lying however, no body movement, no variation in speech or tone._

She put down the box, Or, it could be her telling the Truth, from a certain point of view.

"Where are we heading then, my….friend?" Sophy'a said, truly wondering if Icarus planned farther than getting off Mordan'Moran.

Icarus smiled, " Head to a system called Viso Prime." a look of understanding on Sophy'a's face prompted a response from Icarus, "You Recognise it, Interesting indeed." Sophy'a merely nodded and headed back to the cockpit.

 _Visa Prime, The Colony Planet?_

Visa Prime was a Mid-Rim Colony Planet When the SIth Empire was still the highest power in the Galaxy. It was Mainly used for starfighter repair services, so they could send the ships faster into the core worlds, where the Republic locked itself in a shell. Sophy'a pondered for a moment. Icarus IS a Darth, Perhaps she still has an influence in that sector. Sophy'a began typing in the coordinates for the System. With a deep breath, she pulled the lever, and entered Hyperspace once more.

...

Veranlea was awoken this time by a much larger and immense presence in the Dark side of the Force, _something that rivals the Sith Emperor himself._ Looking around, this time Veranlea noticed that she was suspended in a different status chamber. She was in the center of a large room, with the walls made of the same white and gold artistic style. The floor below her was made of a thick glass, which gave her a good look at the planet below. The powerful presence stood in front of her. He was a tall man, with a white beard covering his wrinkled faded face, his body was covered in gleaming white and gold armor. The Man stood in front of the door, hands behind his back. Something about the man seemed _Familiar_. "Welcome," The man's voice sounded like he just rose from a grave. His arms moved outwards towards the walls, referencing the Planet and starships that drifted outside the space stations glass.

Veranlea tried to probe his mind, but she was weak, not only physically, but it seemed as if the force was being drained out of her.

"It is fruitless to attempt any sort of Abilities with the Force."

 _Alright, creepy._

"You were once Darth Imperius, another cog in the Machine called Sith Empire, today, you stay a cog, but in the Machine of My Empire."

The Emperor began to pace the floor, his every step felt like a stone falling. "Quite Literally I may add. I just wanted to see you for myself" He added. Veranlea looked up the Cuffs binding her in the prison. There was something _off_ about them.

"Why am i here? What are you doing?" The Emperor stopped to look down at the Planet below them. It was a flurry of Gold and industrial haze. Long spires rose from the planet's surface into its atmosphere, even up to the space above.

 _Ohh thats not good._ Veranlea's eyes opened wide as she saw the biggest fleet in the galaxy hanging in the space surrounding the Planet. There could have been hundreds of dreadnaughts drifting there. The Emperor walked back to the door. Without looking back, the Emperor said, "All in good time…" and the Door shut behind him. Veranlea sighed, she looked back to the planet. It really was beautiful. Veranlea began to make conclusions. This must be the Emperor's Empire. Her eyes then looked over to the Dreadnaughts, the very same type that had attacked Mordan'Moran. There were not more than a dozen Dreadnaughts on the planet that day. Here, _There were hundreds in orbit around the planet. Hundreds!_ Veranlea felt weaker and stared at the massive fleet of dreadnaughts as the gas filtered back into the room. she slowly drifted back into unconsciousness.

...

An Alarm woke Sophy'a from a long dreamless nap. She checked her ship's Instruments.

 _We should be at the system soon_.

She Walked to the Den of the ship to see Icarus sitting in a Cross-legged Position. "We will be arriving at the system shorty" Sophy'a Interrupted her. "Know your place, Cipher Nine." Icarus Retorted, keeping her eyes closed. "NEVER Interrupt my Meditation." Sophy'a shrugged the threat off and approached her. "remind me, where's you're ship? how did you get to Mordan'Moran?" Sophy'a asked Impatiently. Icarus didn't budge, "The things unseen are less important then those that are seen."

 _She avoided the question._

Frustrated, she walked back into the cockpit. She checked the Brewer began to brew herself something warm to drink.

 _Space Was Cold indeed._ She thought. The Brewing finished and she put the metal cup to her lips, feeling the drink warm her in the cold nothingness of space. She sat in the pilot's chair and put her feet up, continuing to drink. Holding the warm cup in her hand calmed her, but in truth, she was still on edge on what exactly this Sith had in store for her.

 _The Galaxy is a changed place after so many years, where would i fit in_?

A quieter warning bell alerted her that they were even closer to the system, and had to exit hyperspace soon to avoid any... _Unnecessary Accidents._

Sophy'a put her cup down and began to play with the controls. Icarus came and sit in the chair next to her.

"Exiting Hyperspace…" Sophy'a wrapped her fingers around the Lever, "Now." The bright blue light disappeared again, and in its place, a planet appeared, it was a giant sphere of green and blue.

 _Odd_.

Sophy'a checked her sensors, "No Sign of any other ships…" Sophy'a said warily. Icarus smiled and pointed at one of the moons "There." Sophy'a checked her sensors, then looked up on the viewport, suddenly seeing a cluster of Large Menacing Sith Capital dreadnaughts, with one larger one in the center appear from behind the moon. "Oh, Well then…" Sophy'a lost her voice as she saw the large fleet continue to grow and grow as more ships appeared. "Head for the larger one," Icarus said,

"YOUR Flagship"

End of Chapter 2


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Sophy'a walked out into the massive hangar of the Capital Ship. Immediately the oily smell of machinery and the busy sound of mechanics and personnel approached her senses. Crewmen ran to the ship, one of them carrying a fuel hose, which he later lodged into the _Cordona Blu,_ which was the name she lovingly called it.

She heard the deck officer log the ship into his datapad, scoffing at the name, causing Sophy'a to betray momentary look of anger.

 _It's a beautiful name!_ She reminder herself as she momentarily doubted her ship name.

She was an Imperial Agent not a professional name selector, it seemed like an appropriate name, despite popular opinion. she doubted that was the last time she was going to be confronted about it. She reverted to a professional look and followed Icarus between lines of Soldiers that stood in a salute. Sophy'a looked at the soldiers as she walked past them. They were silent as space, with bodies covered from head to toe in full Black plate armor and faces masked in sealed helmets. They reminded her much of the Soldiers that once stood by her on Mordan'Moran. Their armor, however, changed. She saw that there were updates here and there, in small places. Some actually improved the armor from previous models of armor plating. She noticed that each plate was shined and polished. The Shoulder plates had an odd Insignia along with the standard imperial logo The Starfighters that hung on the hangar's ceiling also had a slight upgrade to them as well; the engine's were bigger and the hull was bulkier.

 _It's been a long time._

They continued walking through the large hanger until they reached a long hallway. The hallway itself was decorate like the rest of the ship; black metal with small white and red lights. Icarus led her to a lift and keyed and pressed her thumb onto the console. The light turned green and the two walked in.

Sophy'a listened to the soft hum of the ship's engines running, quietly filtering through as background noise in her ears. It Soothed her mind as questions swirled as she approached her destination. She snuck a look at Icarus, who was staring at the bulkhead ahead of them, tapping her foot impatiently.

Finally, after a long awkward Lift ride, the bell made a sharp ding, and opened up to a busy Bridge filled with Officers and specialists running from console to terminal. As soon as they saw Sophy'a and Icarus, they all dropped what they were doing and stood in attention, raising their hands in Imperial Salute.

"Darth on Deck!" the crew saluted.

"Relax!" Icarus proclaimed.

The crew relaxed and went on with scurrying around on the Bridge.

"Welcome to the Bridge of the Imperial Flagship, _Majesty of Flame."_ Icarus said.

Sophy'a looked around, most of the crew was busy toiling away on consoles like machines. They were all in clean uniforms and were relatively young, for a crew that is, looking around, the ship wasn't very new at all.

 _Odd, Young crewmembers and Old ship...What of the original members?_ The thought crossed her mind.

The two walked out to the Empty command chair, which sat in the middle of the Bridge. "Your Chair.." Icarus said with a smile, offering her the seat. Sophy'a looked at her very oddly. "Is this when you tell me your plan?" Sophy'a said as she looked down at the chair. It was a lighter black than the Black that surrounded the Bridge, almost like a chrome, and the Red lights in it glowed with an eerie but familiar Imperial feel. "All in good time," Icarus excused,

 _Her tone gave her away. It was more or less an appropriate response, however, Her voice managed to peak and hastily move over the words. considering the circumstance, She must know that she couldn't keep anything hidden for much longer._

"Meet my Second in Command Lieutenant Commander Hongeir" Icarus gestured to a tall man with a rough face. He was a Human like the rest of the crew, with dark brown hair and beard with gray strands showing, He was in a crisp Dark Grey clean Imperial Naval Uniform. He approached them somberly from the far end of the Bridge.

"Sir" The Man Saluted as he walked towards her, his voice grave and experienced. "It is an honour to finally meet you, the Men had...doubts, on if you were even alive, much less would care to come back to our cause."

 _He Smells of cheap Dromund Kass cologne...gross..._

Sophy'a forced a smile smiled and took her opportunity. "And what would that cause be?"

The Lieutenant commander raised his hand.

"Hold on," He said, "this way.." He led her a Galaxy Map, father back down the Bridge.

Hongeir Imputed his code cylinder and the dark Bridge illuminated as the Galaxy appeared in a Hologram. Sophy'a made careful observations of the territory marked. The Core of the Galaxy had an Orange Haze, the Mid rim, Outer rim, Hutt space, and what remained of the SIth Empire was covered in a Red Haze, while a small blot in the far left corner of the space between the Red and Orange Haze coloured blue.

"As you can see," Hongeir began, "Our situation won't hold up in time" Sophy'a crossed her arms and studied the map. Hongeir pointed the blue blot. "There is our sector, the remnants of the Imperial and Sith Forces, much of Our fleet's and Moff's have been scattered, protecting their own territories." Hongeir looked over to Icarus, "The Sith have all but vanished." He Refocused. "The Eternal Empire hit us the hardest." Sophy'a nodded, memories flashing back to Mordan'Moran. Hongeir Continued, "They left the Republic mostly alone throughout the War, mostly because of Tribute those dogs would offer them. In the time of one standard year, they now occupy our home, Dromound Kass and Korriban." Hongeir moved his finger around. "This Red territory represents the Eternal Empire. They had conquered a majority of the Galaxy in a minimum of 4 standard years." He pressed a button, closing the Galaxy map.

 _Alright…_ "So what do you need me?" Sophy'a probed.

Icarus stepped in. "We need you for one simple operation, one that _WILL_ cripple this so called Eternal Empire." She nodded to Hongeir, who was already busy pulling up another Map. The hologram glowed brightly and a planet appeared, there were large structures emerging from the surface, popping out like spikes. "We need to get there, to Zakuul, heart of the Eternal Empire." Icarus pointed.

"Why?"

"So," Hongeir said, "We could gain control of the Largest fleet the Galaxy has ever seen." He keyed another button and made the planet smaller, in the empty space, a large fleet, bigger than any fleet Sophy'a had ever seen. She couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, even this impressed her. "Intelligence reports that the control station for the Ships are located on Zakuul, our goal is to get to those controls, and use the fleet to finally bring an end to this mess".

 _They used all their cards, lets see their endgame._ "Well you obviously can't get to the planet with our current fleet,"

Looking to Hongeir, seeing his face drop, "No Offense Lieutenant Commander."

Hongeir shook, "None Taken Admiral."

Sophy'a raised her eyebrow when he said Admiral, then looked at Icarus, "What then?"

Icarus then put on an act, a failed one, but an act nonetheless, of Confidence. "Now we were hoping you could figure it out, our methods have all but failed.."

Sophy'a's eyebrows scrunched, confused. _What was she playing at?._ Hongeir then pulled up her Profile, an Image of her appeared on the Hologram.

"Ex Imperial Intelligence Agent, codenamed Cipher Nine, as well as Ex Imperial Commando's with Darth Imperious, your group has an impressive record of infiltration, learning enemy tactics and….aggressive negotiations." Hongeir said approvingly.

"It is this reason we brought you here," Icarus said, extending her hand to the Command Chair. "You are The Commander, and you shall find Zakuul, so the Empire could finally, rule, And bring order to the Galaxy!." the Crew cheered around her. Sophy'a pondered about this for a bit.

 _She's going to kill me as soon as she gets the chance. There is no chance she is going to let another rule alongside her. She wants to use me as a pawn, however, it could play out to an advantage_

"There is, one other thing." Icarus said, "Darth Imperius Is Located inside the Eternal Empire. I am the sole person in the Galaxy who knows where she is, But first, Bring me to Zakuul."

 _There was a hint of doubt in her tone of voice, her eyes narrowed down to me._

After a long pause Sophy'a finally said, "Alright, I'll see what i can do, but as soon as we find Imperious, all bets are off." Icarus smiled and nodded. "Its a Deal!" She said eagerly. If a Handshake could be any more awkward, it was the one between her and Sophy'a.

 _If she plans to kill me, she will have the perfect chance to do so anytime after I rescue Veranlea. Which means I won't have much time after to make a grand escape._

Icarus then said in a booming voice, that seemed to fill the entire Bridge, "Men, This is your new Admiral, treat her as you would treat me. Bow!"

The Entire crew, even Hongeir, bowed on one knee to her. Sophy'a smiled awkwardly. "Uhh..At ease men." She looked at Icarus, "Back to your posts!" she barked,and the Crew of the Flagship went back to work.

"So," Hongeir said, bringing the Map of the Galaxy back, "Where do we start?"

* * *

He felt the water move through his fingers, the cool liquid slowly cleaning off any unseen microorganisms. Bending down, he splashed his face with water, feeling its rejuvenating touch. Then he in the mirror, looking back at him was a Man with light tan skin and neat long dark red hair. He moved his wet hands to a towel which stood on the sides on the sink. After he dried them, he adjusted his ever tightening collar of his Uniform

 _Loyalty or Death_ he repeated in his head, over and over, as he continued to adjust and fix his uncomfortable tunic. Each time with more and more doubt. He looked back into the Mirror. Looking into his eyes, he saw the bright vibrant colour, but there laid something else there, something…

 _Empty._

Or perhaps he did not care at all.

Remembering the schedule previously briefed to him, he shut out the thought and proceeded out the door of his Quarters aboard the ship _Zakuul's Fury._

He began his walk towards the Bridge when He noticed two female officers taking a break, they were laughing about something, but as soon as Carmari walked by, the two looked at him coldly and with resentment.

 _Typical_. Carmari thought of the second badge he wore. Zakuul Special Investigation Division, or ZSID, _For Short._ The Position and Rank was given to him by his Late Father. Carmari Originally lived a life aboard a luxury starship, not seeing much action, but due to his Father's elevated position, he was now an Agent for ZSID, monitoring the Eternal Empire's work on the Outer Rim of the Empire, one of the safest jobs in the Galaxy.

 _A Glorified Babysitter for Adults_ He thought.

His current prerogative was to oversee repair stations on the planet below, Mordan'Moran.

In Fact, the closest he got to actual action was when he was picked by the Eternal Prince's to be their cover in a taking of one of the Sith stationed on Mordan'Moran. All he was given was a tranquilising rifle used in the Royal Zoo's. He still remembered her Face. The Face of the Sith. how could he not, it was one of the most action packed moments of his life, and it happened right there, on Mordan'Moran.

 _From what Intelligence told of him, Mordan'Moran, or Whatever was left of that wasteland, Was a launch site for the Sith Empire to launch raids on the Republic, due to its close Hyperspace routes. Now. the Eternal Empire was simply putting it in overdrive, causing major damage to the planet Ecosystems. It was effective in not only sending raid to Republic worlds, but send full fleets. Mordan'Moran now became a boring repair post and launch base for the Eternal Empire_.

He walked into the Command Bridge. The Crew quickly rose up and pounded their chest twice, Yelling, "Captain on Deck." Carmari, hands behind his back, nodded, and the crew returned to work. They had all done just as they had been doing the day before, and the week before that. He looked out on the deck of the ship. He looked out to the vast emptiness of space. Orbiting around the planet was a large Space Station.

 _Outlast Station's as their called. A refueling station for the batteries of our Dreadnaughts._

Not many people knew how the Outlast Station's get their immense power, they were an Invention by The Eternal Emperor, but from seemingly nothing, they manage to power the many ships from the Eternal Empire, from Hyperdrives to turrets. The power starts there, in Outlast Stations. He Stroked his chin again, as he often did. His fingers rubbed over his cleanly shaved face, feeling each tiny little stubble that if led unchecked, could leave him looking like those from the Galaxy's Interior. Carmari laughed to himself over the mean joke. _Loyalty or Death_. He repeated in his head. That feeling of loneliness hurt him again as he looked out among the Stars. Carmari Imaged the Planets orbiting the Stars. Each one with a Possible motherload of Adventures and Excitement. This time Carmari's eyebrow's scrunched. An Officer had called him from one of the consoles, asking him about Interest Rates with hyperdrive units, which had a major presence on the base. With a sigh, he walked over to see what the Officer was Grumbling about, although Carmari wasn't sure if he was Genuinely interested anymore.

* * *

After passing through a series of lifts and escalators, Icarus lead Sophy'a down an incredibly fancy hallway with red carpet and doors on either side. Peaking in, Sophy'a saw that they were luxurious suites with antique furniture and carpets and decorations.

"This is the Guest quarters of the Ship." Icarus said. She walked to the end of the hallway, where there was two grand metal doors. But then Icarus pointed to one of the other doors that stood off to the side. She pressed her thumb into the nearby console and the door opened to another lavishing suite, brighter than the rest of the ship, but still hints with a dark and red Imperial tone.

She handed Sophy'a a keycard. Two guards approached her from behind stood by the door.

"You are to stay in here until we will escort you out to the Bridge for briefing." Icarus said. "These will be your quarters for as long as you are with us. And Please, have something ready for us by tomorrow." Sophy'a walked into the room slowly and cautiously.

"Have a good night." Icarus said in a sweet song voice, and the door shut behind her.

Sophy'a sighed _Well that was interesting._

She looked around, noticing the luxurious themes of the room.

 _I half expected her to give me a wooden chair and a bed made of stone after her seeing my last Home._ Sophy'a chuckled.

Sophy'a walked over the bed and noticed a small Mint Pellet and a written note.

 _Cleaning and service Droids comes at 09:00 sharp. -Icarus._

Laughing, Sophy'a threw the pellet of Mint into her mouth and crumpled up the note, tossing it into the wastebin across the room.

 _If all else fails, I might earn a career playing sports._ Sophy'a joked, then considered the competitors might consider a highly trained and skilled agent of the Empire competing in their sport cheating, but she shrugged it off, _It was only cheating if the Judges noticed anyway._

Taking another Casual look around the room, she determined that she wasn't being watched or listened to in anyway, which was all the better for her. Satisfied, Sophy'a changed her clothing and slowly sat on the bed. She noticed a remote that sat by her bed atop a nightstand. Looking over, it was a remote for some kind of screen. She pressed a button. Instantly the lights dimmed and the roof above her changed into an entire galaxy's worth of Stars and Nebulas.

 _Now This was impressive._ Sophy'a thought as she lay on her bed, hands under her head, and stared out into the cosmos' that was projected onto the top of her Cell.

Her More serious side taking over, she pondered her options. Slowly but surely, a plan began to formulate in her head.

After a long morning of Yelling at the cleaning Droids for walking in on her when it was REALLY the worst time, then telling an unfortunate young guard that a new Maintenance droid was needed for her room, Sophy'a sat on the Command chair of the ship, staring at a Map of the Galaxy. Hongeir and Icarus also stood around it with 3 other senior officers. "Cipher Nine, Good morning, Now, Fulfill your end of the deal." Icarus said, her hands crossed. The 4 Imperial Naval officers looked down as they heard Icarus's tone.

 _She wants Results, the only reason the four here are afraid is because they might not have been giving results… interesting._

"Well, What do we have at our disposal?" Sophy'a said, gazing at Hongier. The Lieutenant commander, shaking out his trancis fear, began, stuttering,

"We-we have a couple Destroyers, 5 in total, the _Shara's Gem, Nova Glimpse, Star's End, Dark Enforcer,_ And _Sovereign Devastator_ , along with a Capital Ship, _Majesty of Flame_. The ships have had little maintenance done due to lack of supplies, but they are Battle ready."

Sophy'a nodded, holding her hands and resting her chip upon them. "What are our Hyperdrive Capabilities?"

Hongeir looked at Sophy'a with confusion. "Sir?" but a threatening look from Icarus commanded him an answer. "All Ships report the Hyperdrive is operational. Sir," Hongeir Continued, "My Suggestion is a full scale attack so we may claim more ground. Our Planet's are not enough to supply us with needed forces to break our way out from between Republic and Eternal Empire space."

Sophy'a Shook her head, "I will not do anything of the sort Lieutenant commander, now, Riddle me this, where is the nearest convoy intelligence reports?"

Hongeir looked at her. "Guerilla tactics are not advisable Sir, perhaps-"

Sophy'a interrupted him. "I require an answer Commander." The Commander sighed and Nodded.

He pulled up a Planet in the holotable. "Our scouts report there is a convoy of two dreadnaughts and a supply ship passing through the Border system Xeon Prime."

Sophy'a then pointed at the planet with one hand, "Tell _Dark Enforcer_ and _Shara's Gem_ To prepare for combat, Quickly, i might add. Head to Xeon Prime. _Majesty of Flame_ , prepare for Hyperspace travel." the Helmsman nodded and the men got to work. A taste of Nostalgia hit Sophy'a as she barked commands to the _Majesty of Flame's_ Crew, it Reminded her of Mordan'Moran., The Dark Bridge of the _Majesty of Flame_ Filled with the Brilliant Blue of Hyperspace travel as the Ship traveled at the Speed of light to reach its Destination.

* * *

"Comms look all clear commander." A Crewmember shouted.

The Eternal Empire Commander nodded. "Excellent Private, how does the convoy report?"

"All green sir!" Another voice said.

The Commander nodded in approval and looked out of his viewport. He stood proud, hands on his hips, watching the universe preform before his very eyes. He saw a vast Artistry of Suns that dotted the blackness. Each one of those suns orbited a planet. And soon, each one will have the Eternal Empire's flag waving in the planet's wind. He saw his small little convoy of Supply ships, and more importantly, the Clothing and exotic wines and cheeses inside of it, along with the repair tools, as a true testament of the might of the Eternal Empire. And for some Reason, the Commander, as much of a long shot as it may be, imagined himself the head of an entire fleet of large capital ships, the governor of a district, or hey, maybe even the as The Emperor. Now that was a thought the Commander liked. The thought of him commanding the entire empire filled him with a sort of-

"Commander a fleet just dropped out of Hyperspace!"

"WHAT?" The commander yelled,

* * *

"Fire"

The Bridge viewports erupted in a brilliant light show of Green lasers that filled the Space between The _Majesty of Flame_ and the Convey. Sophy'a sat in the Command chair, staying silent as she watched the battle. Around her, the Crewmen were hard at work plotting trajectories and managing the systems onboard. To the Left stood Darth Icarus, Who also gazed upon the Battle in front of them with curiosity. To the right stood Hongeir and his supporting officers, who, instead of monitoring the Battle, monitored the crew and made sure the ship ran smoothly. An Explosion rattled one of the Eternal Empire Dreadnaughts, causing it to rumble and shake in space. Sheets of hot metal and flames gasped out into the empty space and floated off. Its Engine's still were operational, but the Ship was Disabled. .

"Concentrate fire on the Bow of the Second Dreadnaught."

Sophy'a ordered from her chair. Hongeir shouted the order down to the gunners. The laser fire began to drift towards the second Ship's bow, which was slowly making his way into position. Sophy'a studied the Battle, remembering how the Dreadnaughts moved in her history with them. She noticed the second Dreadnaught maneuvering into a specific line of fire that was perfect for her Ships' concussion missiles. She also noticed that the Dreadnaught seemed to avoid areas with large quantities of fire and was moving out of range for her Turbolasers. It was getting closer and closer to the _Shara's Gem_

"Commander, prepare the _Shara's Gem_ Concussion Missiles, aim it at sector twelve on my command."

"Sir there is no enemies in that sector!" a Gunner shouted from his Console. "Do as she says Private!" Icarus shouted. The Gunner nodded and typed into his Keyboard. Sophy'a fixated her eyes on the Second Dreadnaught, Just as she had predicted, the Ship was maneuvering out of Turbolaser firing range and was attempted evasive mauves to protect the convoy.

 _Light Em up._

"Launch missile!"

Streaks of blue fire rode out into space. A Pause, the Bridge was silent for a moment. Suddenly, an Explosion rocked the second Dreadnaught, causing it to shake. Fires were emanating from the top deck of the Dreadnaught.

"Impressive." Icarus said

"A moment earlier and it would have crashed into our ship." Hongeir agreed.

With a Smile, Sophy'a said, "Well done, break off the attack, get the tractor beam online, reel in the cargo ship." Hongeir nodded and gave the order. Slowly the cargo ship slowly drifted towards her. But Hongeir still questioned her;

"Sir, with all due respect, why leave the job half done when we can destroy a portion of their fleet now?

Sophy'a starred at Hongeir, _Sigh_

"We needed the Ship's to be disabled and to retreat to their facilities, you will see in due time." Sophy'a avoided the question. "Reel in the Supply ship, then head back to base."

Hongeir, with reluctance, gave the order. Sophy'a reclined in her chair. She looked over to Icarus, who said nothing, but her face was riddled with confusion as well. The Dreadnaughts escaped into orbit. "Order a squad to head down to the cargo ship." Sophy'a ordered to the Ship's officers. "Set their blasters to stun," Sophy'a Added, "Id prefer if we could talk with them." The order was carried out. Within Minutes, the _Majesty of Flame_ and her supporting cruisers speed back into lightspeed. Sophy'a got up from her Chair, stretched, and began to walk out of the Bridge. Hongeir Saluted as she walked passed him, expecting to receive orders.

 _Ugh I won't ever get used to being in command._

Sophy'a walked out of the Bridge and began to head back to her Quarters.

 _On the Bright side, a Commander gets to rest before her next Victory_

* * *

"I do not trust her." Hongeir said to Icarus. "She might be a good tactician, but unpredictable." Hongeir nearly slammed his hand down on the Holotable. "We were so close! We wasted all that time when we could have been massing together planets. Our situation is desperate!." Icarus stood silent for a moment. "Have you ever considered," Icarus began to explain, "That there is a bigger plan then blowing up ships?" Hongeir looked at Icarus, "If there was, why didn't she tell us?" Icarus smiled. "She is Intelligence, they're not very revealing when it comes to secrets. But remember, Commander," Icarus pulled up the Image of a Planet with a space station orbiting it on the Holotable, "She is only a tool, a pawn to put our plan…In Motion."

Sophy'a lay on her bed and chewed another of the Complimentary Mint's that was left on her pillow. She looked through the record's on the ancient data pad. She entered into a Search bar and Typed in _Darth Imperious._ Instantly files came up directly from Imperial records.

 _Or what was left of them._

According to the Record's themselves, many files on Darth Imperious, Veranlea, had been lost, Destroyed, or _Stolen._ Of the incomplete files she did recover, she saved them on her personal Datapad for later use. She keyed in the Searchbar again and typed in _Darth Icarus._ Even odder then before, only two filed appeared. Sophy'a's brow lowered. The first file held up a field where the name was mentioned in a few Academies on Korriban it seemed as if she was a researcher of some sort from the looks of things, it seemed as if she spent a lot of time on Korriban. The second file contained the Ship record for _Majesty of Flame_ that the ship was transferred from Darth Marr's command to Icarus's. The file was dated around the time Korriban was attacked by the Eternal Empire, according to the Records, from there, the records were incomplete.

 _Interesting Indeed._ Out of Curiosity, Sophy'a pulled up the Search bar and entered in _Cipher Nine._ Only one File came up, with her face and the words "Access Denied" Sophy'a looked at the face and was slightly horrified.

 _Of all the Faces Intelligence could have recorded me with, why did it have to be that face!? My hair was a mess that day and I'm not even sure it I was Ready to take a picture yet!_

Sophy'a was still staring at her picture when she heard footsteps. Sophy'a quickly hid the old Datapad under her pillow then put her hands behind her head. She turned on the roof and began to pretend to be deep in thought, gazing into the stars. The door opened and Sophy'a pretended to look surprised. Icarus barged into the room.

"Icarus, the least you could do was knock, what if I had been attempting to escape?" Icarus stopped and paused, trying to understand her question. She shook it off.

"Anything worthy of using resources to only barely scratch a few Dreadnaughts?" Icarus Questioned.

Sophy'a ignored her comment and continued to look up. "All ships were recorded to have gone in different vectors, I will need….more reliable Technology to help uncover their destination.

Icarus Frowned and pondered a bit, " I am not made of Credits Cipher. You will make due with what you have."

 _Excellent..._ Sophy'a thought sarcastically

"Well Sith, I Cannot relay on this," She pointed out the simple console in the corner of her room, which was covered in Dust, "To get us to Zakuul. Unless you provide, I can do nothing."

Icarus grumbled. "Fine. But this had better work. I Mean it Cipher." She patted her Lightsaber which hung on her belt. "For your sake."

Sophy'a smiled, "Don't worry Sith,You'll have your fleet in no time. The Information the Convoy Vectors will be enough."

Icarus's brow scrunched. "Why in the Force would we need that information?" Sophy'a could see that she was concentrating, most likely on the Force, to probe her mind. She felt her presence inside, looking through her thoughts. Sophy'a filled her mind only with the number's she read on the Data, not wanting her to enter her mind.

"All in Good Time, Sith." Frustrated, Icarus stood up straight, raised her head high, and stormed out of the room. Sophy'a chuckled, satisfied the Numbers in her head distracted her enough for Icarus to not be able to reach far into her mind.

Besides,

 _Its all going according to plan_

* * *

End of Chapter 3


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Another Explosion rocked the side of the Dreadnaught, causing molten sheets of metal to be cast out into the empty space.

"Enough, Begin Extraction and tracking Protocols, then plot a course for Base." The order was given, and the _Majesty of Flame_ Was sent back into the tunnel of hyperspace.

Sophy'a sat up in the chair, looked around at her crew, and then walked off the lift that took her down to the Room she resided in onboard. This was her fifth attack on the outer rim convoys that brushed between Imperial and Republic space and already she was getting the information she needed to begin the first phase of her plan.

Icarus Stopped her as she entered the lift. "Cipher this has been going on for enough, we are in need of more ships and supplies" She said in a frustrated tone.

"What do you have in mind?" Sophy'a questioned in a calm tone.

Icarus smiled and said two words.

"Olympus Station."

* * *

Sophy'a checked through her reports from the previous Battle as she rode on the shuttle. Again, she had attacked the Dreadnaughts so they could head to the repair station. From all the points they had attacked, if Sophy'a could trace and match the vector of all the escaping ships, it was possible to find the repair facility of where the ships would be repaired.

"Entering Station Olympus in T minus 30 seconds." The Pilot announced. His voice shook her out of her trance. She looked towards the viewport. "Station Olympus," Icarus said, looking out with Sophy'a. "Today Is the Annual meetings of the Moffs and whatever remains as leaders of our desperate empire, our arrival is expected. Sophy'a simply nodded and watched as the Station slowly grew closer and closer. Icarus set her sights out the viewport as well,

"Not to worry Cipher, The negotiations will be short."

* * *

The next moment she knew, She was standing behind Icarus in a round table filled with Moffs from whatever was left from the Imperial fleet. Sophy'a looked around the room as she tried to recognise a few of them. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Empire." Icarus Started in an awkward formal tone, implying she was almost,

 _Unused to this sort of thing._

"I Bring you all here, for a chance at Power, and a Chance of Revenge"

She heard Admiral Moto scoff, his bald face showing signs of amusement. "Icarus please, Again?" then Moff Ba-Raman stood up, his beard scruff and hair flowing down longer than Imperial standards.

"Yes Icarus, Enlighten us, how will this time be any different. Even with that Cipher of yours?"

Sophy'a raised her eyebrow.

"Get along with it as well, My sector's Governors are waiting." Moff Serpana said, her high eyebrows in a aggravated stance above her highly painted face.

The other Moffs broke put to a grumble in confusion, each one with almost bored and irritated looks on their faces.

Sophy'a looked down to Icarus, who had her hands clutched, as if she was ready to Murder everything that breaths, then, her hands unclenched, and her smile returned. "Here's why it's going to be different." She tossed a holocam onto the table, it lands precisely in the middle. In the Display above, it showed different images of what looks like to be the Bridge of Imperial starships. Only with the crew incapacitated by the same Soldiers Sophy'a saw on The _Majesty of Flame._

"You have some nerve, Icarus." Admiral Ron said, holding a Blaster in his hand, "You cannot simply take our ships and crew hostage."

"We are Imperials, you have no rights!" Moff Jami'a yelled.

Icarus held her hands defensively despite having a blaster pointed at her. "They are Imperial Resources…" Icarus slowly close her hands into a fist.

Admiral Ron dropped his Blaster, and began gasping for air and scratching at his throat. Suddenly, the Guards and every Officer in the room likened to the same desperate clawing at their throats. Sophy'a gasped and motioned her hand out, but before she could do anything, every single living thing in the room, except herself and Icarus, lay crumpled in their seats. She looked over to Icarus, who was now facing the Hologram.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Citizens of MY Empire, I demand that you surrender yourselves to my men aboard your ships, any resistance shall be met with SWIFT and UTTER Destruction,

Bow before your new Empress." The Hologram turned off. Icarus motioned her wrist comm on. "Hongeir, Secure the Ships in orbit, you have done an excellent job. Have the ships rendezvous at the Staging area when you're finished." Hearing an acknowledgment, Icarus Shut the comm off and began to leave. Sophy'a grabbed her arm. Icarus shoved it away.

"No more games Sith." Sophy'a said, Icarus scoffed.

"I Just unified the Empire, that hardly deserves a rebuke." She walked through the door, leaving Sophy'a standing their in shock.

She looked over to the corpses.

"Besides," Icarus called from behind,

"War has different rules."

* * *

Sophy'a sat in the chair in her quarters when the Guard arrived at her door. He Arrived unannounced and very much uninvited. He pointed his weapon at her, then motioned it towards the door.

"The Empress wants to see you." He said, his voice muffled behind the Helmet's filters. Sophy'a sighed and stood up,

"Best not to keep her highness waiting" Sophy'a said sarcastically, although the Guard, stripped of emotions, didn't notice. He escorted Sophy'a to the two large double doors that lay at the mouth of the hallway. Three guards were stationed at the entrance. One of them stepped up and began to use a scanner on Sophy'a. She felt the particles hit her skin as it gave her a tiny little sensations and pricks that almost tickled. The scanner beeped suddenly.

" Remove your weapons here." The guard said

"Oh come now, you would be making me keep the Empress waiting, and for your sake, we wouldn't want that." Sophy'a said, not 100% on if she would be able to fool the guard or not. The guard stepped back and tilted his head, but then shook it off.

"Remove your Weapons here." The guard said again, this time more forcefully.  
Sophy'a sighed _Was worth a shot_

She removed the knife and the Blaster Pistol from her belt and placed it on the Tray. She began to walk forward before the guards cut off her entrance.

"ALL your weapons must be removed.", referring to her boot's  
Sophy'a shot the guard an irritated look, then walked forward, tripping and for a mere moment, distracted the guard from her boots. After a great many "sincere" apologies and a weapon still at her disposal, she walked into the throne room. The room was darkly lit, with the only light coming from below the pillars that stood parallel to the path to Icarus's Throne. The Throne which Icarus sat upon lay in front of a Mural of a Skull which menacingly watched Sophy'a as she walked towards the Throne. Every step she took echoed in the Chamber, Sophy'a was beginning to feel her own heartbeat in her chest. Icarus sat on the throne with her legs crossed and was flanked by two of her newest Royal guards, which were draped in Black cloaks and lightsabers hung at their belts. Icarus had changed her garments, she now wore long Black and red robes, with extended shoulder pauldrons and a face of Malic and Smugness. Sophy'a stopped before the Throne.

"Your Highness." Sophy'a said, careful not to let her sarcasm and her utter lack of feeling harm her relation with the new Empress.

"Cipher, I allowed you to come within my Throne, not to speak."

 _Oh Brother._ Sophy'a said. Deciding not to say anything, she merely nodded her head and gave Icarus a look of idleness.

"You are allowed to speak Cipher, how goes the War?"

"We have recovered information vectors from our most recent raids and attacks, it should only be a few moments before we can calculate the trajectories and be able to find our objective."

"And," Icarus Interrupted, "What is this Objective you are using our new fleet for?"

Sophy'a stood her ground, "The Eternal Empire Repair Station, where there would now be a few dozen ships waiting to be repaired."

Icarus tapped the armrest of her seat with her fingers, her nails making cold clicks and clacks that echoed in the Chamber.  
"I see you're enjoying that seat of yours." Sophy'a commented. The Guards next to Icarus moved for their sabers, but Icarus waved her hand, and they slowly moved their hands back down.

"The Emperor is gone to Force knows where, a Shattered empire lay before me, i only needed the right ticket, the right Trophy to get in. Thank you for that." She grinned a very malicious smile. The Distaste in Sophy'a grew. Noticing this, Icarus said, "I see no reason for quarrel, you have command of all MY ships, including the….newly acquired ones…I am Simply a head for the Empire you used to serve." She stood up from her throne. "Remember Cipher, I found YOU on Mordan'Morar...I also hold information to where Imperius is, It does not matter if you disagree with my methods." She took steps towards Sophy'a. "You WILL obey my commands, or you will end up thrown away, exactly like you were on Mordan'Morar...Forgotten." This time it was Sophy'a's turn to walk forward. "Just because you are Empress...does not mean you are Immortal...Sith." Sophy'a turned her heels and walked off towards the door. Suddenly she felt the force Pull her back, but only by the slightest. She looked back to see a Knife in Icarus's hand, the same Knife that was hidden in her boot when she came in.

"You are so right Cipher…." she rotated the Knife in the air with the Force, then, used it to slam the knife into the floor, nearly a hair away from her foot.

"At least for now…" An Eerie laugh filled the room, giving even Sophy'a goosebumps. She pulled the knife out of the floor and sheathed it back into her boot and, rather quickly, left the Throne room, the laugh following her as she exited.

* * *

Sophy'a leaned in the Office chair and stared at the Galaxy map that was placed in her room specifically at Icarus's request. Icarus made it a special point to collect technology from the...newly acquired fleet and place the most advanced technologies in her possession. However, Sophy'a looked over to the right of the desk to notice a Generic Caf Maker brought aboard from Moff's shuttle, which was perceived by the crew to be some kind of "Advanced Technology."

 _To be Fair, it did have alot of advanced screens and lights, easy mistake_ Sophy'a chuckled, trying to lighten her mood as she boiled a cup in the maker. She was an agent for the Empire, that made her do alot of things, but Sophy'a was still haunted by the Moffs gasping for air and crumpling to their desks and the laugh of Icarus in the Throne room. Fear could have easily been born those thoughts in her mind, but Sophy'a remembered to shrug her feelings off and focus on the Objectives

 _If a Being can gain enter your mind with fear, you slowly become a puppet to the Being you fear._ It was one of the major lessons taught to her while training in the Imperial academy, so long ago, used both defensively, and offensively, against Enemies of the Empire.

 _Nonetheless, Icarus needs to be dealt with, at least after Veranlea is found._ She reminded herself. She continued looking at the Monitor, pacing the room as she did. For the next hour, she continued placing lines, making calculations, and correcting herself on the Galaxy Map.

Finally, as the lines drew closer, a location was discovered. Sophy'a put her head on the table,

 _No, It can't be…._

 _Mordan'Morar_

* * *

Carmari watched as Officers and Naval Ensigns passed by him. Some of them gave him odd looks, more odd than usual, but it was only because of the loud slurping sounds he made as Noodles entered his mouth. The bowl was warm in his hands, and his eating utensils was dirty with the spices from the Noodles. Deciding he had enough of stalking the crew, he swiveled around and started to look through a nearby Terminal. A Grunt was heard from behind him. It was a Senior officer, one who starred at Carmari with a vicious growl. "Sir" he said in a gruff impatient voice, "You should see this." Carmari rolled his eyes, "What is it im missing dinner." The now Annoyed officer pulled out a holo device and displayed it before Carmari. "This is the 5th attack on our convoys this month, our docs are overflowing with Ships in need of repairs." Carmari looked at the holo as if he was being thoughtful. "Easy answer Senior officer….?" Carmari left the question open. The Senior Officer grumbled a bit and said, "Senior Officer Darm sir." Carmari nodded his head in full remembrance, "Right yes i remember you, of course…." Senior Officer Darm shook his head, "Sir….the _Docks_." he emphasised. "Hmmm, easy solution Darm, bring more supplies here." The officer stood to reject, "Sir-" but Carmari cut him off. "None of it Dram, do as i command, i wear the badge here." The Officer looked, then, considerably more angry than before, stomped off. Carmari sighed and swiveled back to the news terminal. Something did catch his eye….something about a New leader of the old Empire…

* * *

She awoke with a sweat, she tried to move, then became afraid, confused, for she was still in the Stasis chamber. She sighed and looked down, not having the strength to keep her head up. The noise of a boot hitting the ground, however, drove her head up. It was Prince Thexan, the twin brother in black. Veranlea, in her weak state, managed to squeeze a laugh. "Do you always watch Woman when they sleep?" She asked the Prince, genuinely curious. The Prince did not seem to understand the joke.

"I Do hope you are comfortable, i do not wish to see pain on you." The Prince said, surprising Veranlea, who said nothing in response.

"Forgive me, but," The Prince went on, "I was curious about your Order, the Sith." this time Veranlea smiled.

"If you want to know about Sith, ask your dad, he used to be OUR Emperor." Veranlea said.

The Prince seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Curious, he had never displayed such actions during his reign in the Eternal Empire. He had always been a caring man."

"Ha," Veranlea said, "You should have seen him in his old days."

"Thats...beside the point." Prince Thexan said, his eyes icy cold. "Tell me, When you say, "My Chains are Broken, the Force shall free me.", What does that mean? The Force is not something that should be broken off from."

Veranlea, weakly, replied, "The Force breaks the chains between slavery and freedom, those who flow with the Force, instead of against it, prosper as a result."

This surprised the Prince, whose eyes widened. "Curious," He said, "Other Sith i have spoken to went on a mad rage about the Dark side…You are the first of your kind to teach this."

 _My Kind…_

"Thanks i guess." she said, still unsure.

Thexan walked to a nearby console, pressed a few buttons, and released Veranlea from her statis. She fell to the floor with a thud, her hair a mess, her muscles sore, and finally, her connection to the force seeming…

 _Complete_

"Could've warned me about that." Veranlea said.

"Apologises." Thexan said, accordingly, "But you are free to walk around, for the time remaining that is. So stretch."

Veranlea stretched her arms, feeling the bones and muscles tense and then release. She looked down at the planet and fleet below.

"Mighty fleet your dad's got there."  
Thexan looked down as well. "It is a fleet as old as our Emperor himself." His voice was still monotone, but there was a hint of emotion.

Veranlea's thoughts drifted to Sophy'a. She dwelt on her friend for a bit, then looked to Thexan

"Why have you brought me here?" she asked him coldly.

Thexan carefully opened his mouth, "We had need of you."

"Why." Veranlea said, sharply.

Thexan looked back at Veranlea, and Veranlea looked back at Thexan. He lifted up his wrist and pressed a button.

"Im terribly sorry. I do hope you enjoyed your stretch."

Another dart pierced her neck

"No…! Not….again…" She looked at Thexan as her vision faded, "you….Little...Scum…"

She couldn't finish her insult as she fell again to the floor.

* * *

End of Chapter 4


	6. Chapter 5

Sophy'a stood standing with Hongeir staring at the Hologram of the Galaxy on the Bridge of _Majesty Flame._ The two stood around the hologram, looking as manifests and planets dotted the area in front of them. The hologram lit up the dark bridge like a single flair in the night.

"No, It cannot be done!" Hongeir tried to argue.

"You mean," Sophy'a said soberly, "you are not able to figure it out."

Hongeir furrowed his brow, "I've not heard of something more insane in my career! You are supposed to be a tactical leader, not a suicide agent!"

Sophy'a, staying cool, said, "I'd hardly call it a suicide mission commander."

"Hardly?" Hongeir said, his face now growing red, "You plan to infiltrate Mordan'Moran with a few dozen ships actively patrolling the area!"

Sophy'a smiled, "That's the point commander, and I want you to question yourself,"She turned off the map and looked Hongeir directly in the eyes, "Who is in Command, Commander?"

Hongeir let out a tired sigh, "If you want to kill yourself, fine. If it's on the Empress's orders."

 _That it is, some commander._

"Excellent," Sophy'a said, she turned back on the hologram and diverted her attention to it, noting the new additions to their fleet being labeled on the manifests. "Now that you agree, you can start by acquiring some supplies for me..."

* * *

The crew working on the _Cordona Blu_ had finished the final adjustments by the time Sophy'a approached the Hanger. The hanger was as busy as usual, crewmembers running to and fro. She noticed the last of her supplies also was being loaded onto her ship and the final modifications being installed. Sophy'a was walking up the landing ramp when she heard her name being called behind her. It was Commander Hongeir.

"Nice of you to say your farewells Commander." Sophy'a said.

 _He looks out of breath, must have ran down here quickly. Didn't he know he could have sent a message?_

"Sorry to delay you Cipher." Hongeir started, "But, Sir, Permission to speak candidly?"

"By all means Hongeir, it's not like you do not do so already." Sophy'a retorted, her sarcastic tone saturating every word.

 _Although in hindsight, this was a pretty humorous scenario in itself_

Hongeir hanged his head in shame, his face blushing, "Thank you, Sir."

His tone got a little more stern. "Look, I may disagree with your methods, highly, in fact, but the crew has hope in you, and that is important in a commander. I had simply wanted to apologise."

Sophy'a thought about it for a moment, then, an idea popped into her mind, a smile grew on her face. She looked to her ship, the engineers closing the accesses panels, then back to Hongeir.

"Apology accepted Hongeir….in fact, i know just how you can repay me."

* * *

"You Can not be serious." Hongeir said, aboard the _Cordona Blue,_ sitting arms crossed in the seat across her, staring into the streaks of hyperspace.

"You've asked that question many times, Commander," Sophy'a said, tinkering with a probe droid that was laid on the table between them; Parts of it were strewn around the table. "And every time, you seem to not like the answer."

"That would take a Miracle to pull-" Sophy'a interrupted him

"I don't need you to believe my plan will work, I need you to do exactly as I instruct, precisely when I need you to." She checked the control of the Probe droid, connecting it to a sensor.

Hongeir sighed. 'What makes you have so much faith in yourself Cipher?" he said, almost looking defeated.

Sophy'a didn't look up as she continued to check on the Drilling probe droid controls. She began to answer, but suddenly the droid, much to the surprise of the two sitting. It started to frantically roam the room, Sophy'a quickly clicked a button on her boot, and shut the probe down, it fell to the floor with a thud. Hongeir gave her a stare.

"Simple, Commander," Sophy'a said, picking up the deactivated droid,

"Planning ahead."

* * *

The Marketplace on Mordan'Moran was as busy as usual. Beings, mostly humans, scurried to and fro, covering their mouths from the atmosphere. Things have gotten a bit foggy since Sophy'a last visited the planet. She adjusted the glasses that hid her red eyes from the crowd, almost recoiling in the smell.

 _Definitely more toxic... but it won't be much of a problem for me for long._

Hongeir walked next to her. Both were covered in plain clothing and an urban poncho to blend it. Sophy'a know Hongeir felt extremely uncomfortable in the garb, which amused Sophy'a. She was also dressed in simple garb, and tied her hair accordingly. She carried a small leather satchel over her torso.

"I don't see why this is necessary." Hongeir whispered into her ear, trying to brush off something that fell on his shoulder, only to recoil in disgust.

 _Haha!_ Sophy'a chuckled inside her head, then grew serious,

"The Market is the easiest place to find guards." Immediately Sophy'a spotted two Eternal Empire soldiers patrolling the outer perimeter of the Market. Sophy'a eyed them as they walked around the corner.

"Why would we need guards?" Hongeir asked. Sophy'a shushed him and continued staring at the guards, watching their movements. She waited until precisely the right moment, grabbed a fruit from the local stall, and hurled it at the Trooper. It splattered all over his golden armor, causing the fruit to stain and stick to his armor.

 _Hah, It'll take weeks to wipe that off for him._

"Hey! Why you little-!"

"Run" Sophy'a ordered Hongeir and ran into the crowd as fast as her legs could carry her.

Hongeir could be heard running and yelling behind her. The Eternal Empire Troopers were quickly closing in behind her. Sophy'a made a right turn over a Vendor that sold necklaces and rings, which were knocked over by the Eternal Empire's soldiers as they chased after the two. Looking back, Sophy'a saw they were getting farther and farther back. Smiling, Sophy'a looked forward to see that two other Troopers were blocking their path, Blaster raised.

"Sir!" Hongeir yelled at her as he was gunned down with stun bolts

But that was all Sophy'a ever heard as she fell to the floor, the stun bolt piercing through her nervous system. SIlently, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and awaited the stun to take full effect.

* * *

"Make sure you watch our Imperial guests, especially _Her_ …" a voice echoed. Sophy'a awoke with a sharp pain in her temple. She was strapped to a wall. her energy wrists bound above her. Hongeir was bound right beside her, his Wrists being bound to the wall as well. As soon as her hearing came back, she could hear Hongeir stirring.

"Wha- what happened?" his arms suddenly shook viciously as he tried to shake free. "What?! Where am I?"

"Quiet" The guard outside the Cell said.

 _Yes please quiet._ Sophy'a said, her head still throbbing  
"Cipher, what is this?!" Hongeir yelled, furious.

"Quiet down Commander, this is all going to plan." Sophy'a said calmly, as she tried to see if the Bracers would open.

Hongeir continued, "I must Protest, this was Humiliating from the Start, but THIS?! I'll have to file this in my report!"

 _Being this close to you would definitely be the hardest part of my plan._ Sophy'a thought bitterly.

"Hongeir please let me in peace so I could concentrate." Sophy'a said, trying to listen in. she noticed the hum of a ships engines.

"We are on a Ship," She whispered, "not a large one at that...Excellent."

'I Said quiet!" The guard outside yelled into the cell.

She looked down to her boot. The Guards looked through her bracers, and the satchel laid on the floor across from her; but they never checked her boots.

"So if this is part of the plan," Hongeir, now calmer, questioned, "how will we get out of this?"

"Wait for my signal, look in the Satchel, do exactly what it says." Sophy'a said quickly under her breath as she noticed movement outside, "you'll know when." The cell doors opened, and in walked in a Man, he was tall, and had rugged dark red hair and pale tan skin. His eyes matched with His uniform which displayed an officer's plaque on it, which was odd, because he looked especially young. He walked in and stared at Sophy'a for a moment, and Sophy'a stared at him. He motioned to his aid, "Darm, take off her binders." the Aid agreed and removed her binders. She rubbed her wrist which were sore from the restraints they had on her, but mainly she was focused on this new officer.

 _He doesn't look like a threat._ Sophy'a said as she studied the Young Man's features, he looked to be around mid twenties, although, she couldn't tell for sure. He seemed almost….familiar.

 _Nonsense, everyone could be a threat._

The Man turned his heels and walked out, motioning the aid to escort her. He put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off, not wanting him to guide her like a pet. They walked a little down the white and gold hallway while until they had come across a room farther down in the Prison. The room was dark and only furnished by a cheap white table and two metal chairs, a single light source hanged from above. Sophy'a soon realised why she was here;

 _Interrogation_

* * *

Carmari sent Darm to the observing room, to make sure the Prisoner did not feel too uncomfortable. She had long black hair, blue skin and red piercing eyes, eyes that wouldn't reveal any secrets about her. From what Carmari could gather from his data reading, she was of a species known in the Galaxy as the Chiss, born in the farthermost reaches of the Galaxy, which had aligned with the Empire during the Galaxy's Civil war. What caught his attention was the fact that mostly, Chiss have been used for infiltration and reconnaissance in the old Sith Empire. This Chiss wanted to be found, which made Carmari all the more curious to find out what she was hiding.

 _She was rather beautiful_ Carmari thought, but shook it off, but the lingering feeling of his memory still ate away at him, as if he could remember her from somewhere. Slowly, she sat down in the seat opposite from the Observation room, Carmari sat down in front of her. He put his hands in a ball and leaned on the table, "Afternoon," Carmari said, remembering how his books had said to have a friendly approach during Interrogation. Carmari saw it had little to no effect, and the Chiss simply looked in another direction to ignore him. Carmari groaned internally

 _Why did I have to get signed up for this, I've never even done an interrogation!_ Carmari thought for a little bit. then, Knowing it would get her attention, he finished his sentence. In a more quiet voice, he said,

"Chiss."

* * *

"Chiss" her interrogated said.

 _Adorable._

"Was that supposed to get my attention?" Sophy'a said softly, cracking a small smile.

The Man began to blush. "Look," he started to say. Sophy'a could feel his nervousness, his sweat dripping from his brow.

 _There wasn't much attempt to mask it anyway. Poor boy._

Sophy'a took a deep breath, trying to stay cool and confident while being interrogated on a Hostile ship.

"I don't mean any trouble" He said, raising his hands up, trying to make himself seem more believable.

"That makes two of us." Sophy'a said, not bothering to look back at him, instead, out of the corner of her eye, Sophy'a studied him, and every motion he made. Humans had a problem with being…. _Unpredictable…._ and yet simultaneously, predictable; A rare trait in galactic species. This Human was young, almost Naive.

 _His hands came back down to the table, a more confused look grew on his face._

"Hey, I'm in charge of the Interrogation here!" the Interrogation Officer said.

Sophy'a chuckled, "Well, that's wonderful to hear. ."

 _First piece of advice taught in any Imperial academy, Sarcasm is the best way to get answers._

The Frustration on the Officer's face grew, then, he actually managed to calm himself down.

"Apologies, my _Friend."_

 _He emphasised the word Friend, as if he was attempting to get his point across._

"We started on the wrong foot, Why don't we start with a name?" The Officer said, folding his arms. Moments of silence passed.

"Alright," the Officer said, "I'll start, You are speaking to Captain Carmari, head of ZSID in this sector."  
 _That name…_

"ZSID," Said Sophy'a, "Interesting, i hear they are a relatively old Organization, and for you to have the honor so young as well…" Sophy'a's voice trailed off, "Must be proud." She said

 _Another look on his face, his eyebrows lowered and his eyes skirted from the bottom left to right._

"It isn't all it's cracked up to be, I only received my promotion after the conquering of this world from the Empire." It took Sophy'a no small amount of Strength to hide her anger.

"Must have been quite an honour to receive that promotion." Sophy'a said.

The Officer - Carmari - sat there silently for a bit, then nodded.

"I have read about the Empire." Carmari said, "despite a recent surge, much of it is now in tatters, but, why would they send you?"

Sophy'a moved her head down and her eyes up, "You don't seem used to interrogations, are you? So, why did they send you?"

A hint of confusion glimmered in his eye, his eyebrows arched down. "What?"

Sophy'a opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

"Enough of this," he said, his voice serious, "Why have you come here, Imperial?"

Sophy'a tapped her heels together, activating the signal for her droid.

 _It'll be time to leave..._

Sophy'a shrugged, "Wanted to see the view again, felt your officers could use a splash of colour."

Carmari chuckled, then looked back at her, "and Now, the Real answer?" He leaned in a little closer, perhaps to not let the others hear, an almost sincere look on his face. "I really don't want to hurt you."

An Explosion rocked the ship, almost knocking her and Carmari aside. Alarm bells began to ring out and the room was now filled with a red glow pulsing with the tone of the alarm. A voice over the intercom was activated. "Alert, Alert, Reactor Malfunction, reading power loss, Major damage to center mass, all crew, Evacuate!"

 _Now._ she got up from her chair, pushing the table in front of her. Carmari was pushed back, shaking his head, trying to recover. Screams could be heard outside, and in the observation room.

Carmari looked at her and pulled out the blaster strapped to his waist "hey-!" he never finished his sentence as Sophy'a grabbed his arm and flipped him onto the table, cracking it under the sudden weight. The Door opened to reveal the aid with Blaster in Hand. Sophy'a, catching Carmari's blaster, shot the aid square in the chest. He fell to the ground in a thud, clutching his shoulder. She looked to Carmari, who now stood up and looked ready to throw a punch. Aiming the Blaster at his head, Carmari slowly stopped, and raised his hands in the air, a look of panic on his face.

"I-I remember you…" he spat out in a panic amidst the alarms which coloured the dark room in a terrifying red, "You were one of the bodies in that crashed shuttle…"

The wave of memories flooded Sophy'a. In an instance, she remembered the shuttle, waking up, seeing Veranlea, seeing her fall, seeing a single officer with a sniper Rifle in the Dropship…..her finger twitched, Her eyes gaped wide open

 _Its Him…_

* * *

 _Its Her…_

Carmari thought as he stared down the barrel of a blaster pointed directly between his two eyes. He could feel the sweat being absorbed on his tunic. He looked at her again, then said for certain

 _It's her, the one among the bodies of Mordan'Morar, when I shot the Sith...It can't be…._

The Chiss gripped the Pistol tightly. "Give me one good reason i shouldn't end your life right now…" Her voice dripped with fury, which only made Carmari all the more nervous. He shuffled through ideas.  
"I..I could help you gain access to whatever you need onboard! My security clearance allows me to go to where I choose."

The Chiss thought for a moment, then pulled the trigger, shifting her aim directly beside Carmari's head; He felt the hot laser scorching past him, only to hit a wall not so far behind him.

"Try again." She said.

Carmari's heart began to beat faster, "What...what would you want?" he asked, in a desperate panic.

"You captured a Sith the day you invaded!" she said, her voice raised, "Veranlea, where did you take her!?" She demanded, pushing the weapon closer in his face.

"Wait wait...you mean, Darth Imperious?" Carmari said, trying to understand, looking past the barrel at her face.

The Chiss nodded, not moving her blaster.

"Oh, Oh, I...I know where she is!" the now excited Carmari said, realising he had a bargaining chip that could save his life. His gratitude for his favour with the higher ups grew exponentially.

The Chiss lessened her grip. "Prove it."

Carmari nodded, "I was with the Prince's as they took her away, she is on an Outlast Station, just like the ones orbiting Mordan'Morar."

A moment passed.

"And?" she said Impatiently.

"Let me come with you, and I may tell you the rest." Carmari said, gambling she simply won't end his life.

"That's not good enough." Sophy'a said, a near whisper.

Carmari grew more determined, "I know the Eternal Empire better than you do, I know their Access codes, locations of major bases, supply routes. If you want to win," he paused, "well, you would be a fool to kill me now."

"Alright, Captain, Let's say I believe you." She began to say, "and Let's say I were to bring you with me. Why won't you just Betray me?"

Carmari frowned, "it's not like I cared much for the Eternal Empire to begin with." the Chiss listened to him attentively, "I only got this because my Father had set me up in a small corner of the galaxy.." He plucked off the badge and threw it away, landing with a loud _clunk_. "I have always wanted something more, to see the galaxy, not just from afar."

Carmari waited as she thought about his words. They were as genuine as he could make them.

"Alright," The Chiss said, "Might want to grab the Badge back, you'll need it, and do exactly as I say." She lifted her blaster to his chin. "Or else…"

"Fine," Carmari said, picking back up his badge.

"Now, lead me to the control room." she said as she turned to walk outside

"Woah woah Hold on," Carmari said, catching her, "I don't even know your name."

She turned around and extended her hand. "Sophy'a."

Carmari reached out his hand, gripping Sophy'a's cold hands, and shook it. "Carmari, a Pleasure."

* * *

The Two slowly creeped out of the Interrogation room.

 _No guards, Interesting.  
_ Sophy'a corrected herself, there did lay a restrained naked guard body in the Cell block were Sophy'a and Hongeir was restrained

 _Hongeir!_

Sophy'a ran to the cell, Pistol in hand, to discover the Guard lay unconscious, and the Cell, including where Hongeir was restrained, was empty.

 _He must've escaped. Let's hope he remember where the ship was going to be. The Instructions in the Satchel were very specific._

The memories of Hongeir and his antics came to Sophy'a's mind

 _I hope this will work..._

Carmari followed behind her, very carefully. Sophy'a pointed the blaster at him. "Show me the way to the Control center for this ship."

Carmari raised his hands and chuckled. "Are you going to threaten me with that for the rest of the day?"

Sophy'a said nothing but a small smile crept on her face. She motioned towards the door.

"Wait, said Carmari, "The outside is going to be crawling with troops. There's no way you'll be able to fight them off." Sophy'a raised an eyebrow. "That is," Carmari stammered, "there's no way you'll do it quickly."

Sophy'a sighed, "Okay, what do you have in mind?"

Carmari smiled and retrieved a pair of Binders from the nearby hold

"Youll have to trust me on this one." he said, holding the binders up.

 _This might be a grave mistake._

She thought for a moment, then lifted her arms up, allowing Carmari to place the Binders on her.  
"Walk in front of me, stay in pace, and please," Carmari whispered, "Don't do anything foolish."

 _I got a bad feeling about this._

* * *

Carmari held the Pistol to her back as she escorted her through the Hallway of the dreadnaught. The alarm echoed in the hallway, with crew and soldiers running to and fro, trying to secure the ship.

 _I could shoot her at any moment_ Carmari realised as she looked down on her. He shook the thought off and maintained a fast walk as he led her down to the control room.

 _I could go back to my comfortable life._ The intruding thought was raised again in Carmari's mind. Soon after, the memory of her sparing his life also came into view. Carmari shook his head.

 _No, this is the right thing to do._

"Down that hallway," Carmari motioned to the right, "Is the control center." He saw Sophy'a nod, but then look down to see that two guards stood between them and their objective.

"Where your guards part of the plan?" Sophy'a questioned sarcastically.

"Hey, Lockdown protocols, give me a moment." He nudged Sophy'a with the Blaster and they both walked towards the door.

"Halt." one of the guards said. "State your business."

"Oh hey Sergeant!" Carmari said, obviously feeling very casual, "ZSID needs to access this room for a technical readout, security protocols and whatnot"

"And the Prisoner?" the other guard questioned, pointing his rifle at Sophy'a, who looked down at her.

"Oh...well...umm…She's A-"

Suddenly Sophy'a seemed to decide she had enough of this and slammed all her body weight into the guard, the second one raised his weapon, but Carmari raised his first. He pulled the Trigger.

Nothing.

The guard managed to get a shot off, only to hit the bulkhead right behind Carmari's ducked head. He ran to the guard to try and pistol whip the guard. He caught his hand, struggling against the other. He raised his other hand up during the struggle and punched the Guard square in the cheek, he fell to the floor, trying to recover. Carmari took the opportunity to kick the fallen guard, causing him to twist around, unconscious. He looked to the other guard, who Sophy'a was strangling with her Brinders, soon falling to the ground with a thud. She raised herself to a stand, taking a deep breath. Looking at the two guards, Sophy'a started to make for the door, but Carmari caught her.

"Why wouldn't my gun fire?" he asked Sophy'a with hints of anger in his voice

Sophy'a pointed to a Powerpack clipped to her belt. "Safety Precautions, now, unbind me."

 _She almost killed me!_

He shook his head

 _No, it made sense. Smart._

Carmari, hesitantly, unbinded Sophy'a's shackles. Sophy'a rubbed her wrists again, with an obvious look of relief on her face.

"After you." Sophy'a said, picking up the Rifle one of the guards were armed with.

"Ladies first," Carmari said, following suit.

"Charming," She said sarcastically, "but we need your codes." she said, motioning to the console

"Ah, Yes," he said, his face having a red tint. "Right…"

Carmari inputted the codes needed to enter the command center. The door slid open with a hiss and the two walked in to see Inside were three officers standing at consoles, they looked back suddenly, then looked behind them to see the bodies on the floor.

"I can explain-" Carmari said, before Sophy'a started to spray Blaster bolts towards the officers. The three officers ducked and pulled out their own pistols, returning fire. Sophy'a and Carmari dove for cover behind a console.

"Didn't I tell you to follow MY lead?" Carmari said, sending two bolts in the officer's direction.

Sophy'a ducked under a laser blast, which nearly took off her head, "well lucky for you, I improvise well."

"Well," Carmari said, kneeling up to send a few more shots in the general direction of its intended recipients, "how do you plan to get out of this mess?"

Sophy'a thought for a moment, looking around the room. "There!" she said, pointing at a metal shield that hung on an armory rack.

"You hold the shield, and i'll stay behind you." Sophy'a instructed.

Carmari starred at the shield for a moment, another laser bolt flying above his head. He dove for the shield, and turned his heels around. Sophy'a rolled behind him, Firing careful shots the three officers. The officers turned and fired at them, but the shots kept on bouncing into the shield as the two slowly walked towards them. Sophy'a closely followed behind the shield and, within moments, the three officers lay dead sprawling on the ground.

Carmari tossed the shield down on the floor, landing with a iron sounding _Thud_. Sophy'a ran towards the console while Carmari began to remove the bodies.

"Give me a moment." She said, as she entered into the mainframe. Suddenly she was blocked off, the console requiring to her to enter in security codes.

"Carm, what are the Security Codes?" she yelled as Carmari pulled the second officer by his arm.

"One Two Three Four Five.." he yelled back, straining.

"One...Two...Three...Who in blazes thought that was a good idea?!" Sophy'a said, entering the code. The screen lit up green and information began to file through.

"I figured it wouldn't be suspicious!" Carmari defended himself.

Sophy'a was torn between laughing and being in utter disbelief.

* * *

Carmari watched the screen as Sophy'a searched through the datafiles. She linked her datapad to the console and rigged the controls of the ships aboard to her datapad in a few short moments.

 _Interesting…_

He looked down, her fingers were typing away at frightening speeds, her black hair flowed down to her shoulders. She still wore the same outfit they had captured her in. Her skin-

"Alright," said Sophy'a, "I had just finished downloading what I need-"

She stopped.

"What is it?" she said, noticing Carmari was distracted.

 _Snap out of it_ Carmari reminded himself.

"Oh-" Carmari said, trying to think of an excuse, "I was thinking about your friend from the cell!" he lied.

Sophy'a stared at him for a while. "Listen," she said, approaching him her voice very quiet, "I have served with Imperial Intelligence for years on end. I know when someone is telling the truth." She got closer, _Really_ close, Carmari felt a lump forming in his throat and something press against his stomach. Looking down, he saw a loaded blaster pressing right against him. "Or if they are lying to me." she said, almost a whisper. She put away the blaster, allowing Carmari to breath a sigh of relief, the rest of his thoughts were both praises of gratitude and panicked expressions.

"Besides, I wouldn't be too worried about him," suddenly a flash appeared on the console. Sophy'a turned around and began to type again. "Ah, see, I told you."

Carmari was confused, "What do you mean?"  
Sophy'a looked up at him, "none of your concern." she unplugged a datapad and attached it to her belt. "Come along now, let's head to the Hanger. We need to leave," she approached the door, suddenly the ship rumbled again, causing Sophy'a and Carmari to catch themselves on the nearest study structure. "Soon." she added.

She opened the door, and motioned Carmari to follow.

Carmari, still standing around confused, reluctantly followed.

The two ran down the halls of the Dreadnaught, which were empty anyway as the Crew had already evacuated to the escape pods. The Ship was falling apart, the Hallways shook constantly; Sophy'a and Carmari tried to keep their balance as they ran

"Warning, Warning, Reactor in Critical Condition" the alarm rang

"What did yall do to my ship?" Carmari yelled as they ran

"I used a probe to cause an "accidental" malfunction in the reactor! I already sent out a distress signal!" Sophy'a said, continuing the run.

"How did you get a probe onboard?" Carmari yelled, now more confused than ever

"It's a Secret!" She yelled back, smiling.

Carmari shot her a look, then looked forward, "there, that way!"

They turned a right down their hallway and approached the hanger bay. Looking around, Carmari saw they were running towards a piece of garbage freighter that was parked in the center of the hanger. The boarding ramp was already lowered, and standing beside it, was a man dressed in the Eternal Empire's armor.

"Hongeir!" Sophy'a shouted.

The man took off his Helmet to reveal an aging face. "Sir!" he said, Nodding in salute.

"I followed your instructions exactly as described." Hongeir said, then looked at him. He raised his blaster. 'Who is he?" Sophy'a looked over. Carmari began to turn pink and waved his hand, "I'm Carmari, Captain of the-"

The ship shook again, "Warning, reactor failure. suggest immediate evacuation."

"Captain of the ship that's currently blowing up around us." Carmari finished.

"We'll talk about it later." Sophy'a said. "Everyone get in!"

Carmari was the first to walk into the ramp.

 _Wherever this is going...I hope it's worth it..._ he took his first steps on the ramp, then, suddenly, a pain shot up in his back, electrifying his nerves. Then his vision faded away to black as his face slammed into the bulkhead.

 _Thump._

* * *

Sophy'a hoisted the sidearm back into her hoister.

"If you wanted to stun him, you could've just told me to." said Hongeir.

"He wasn't in the plan before." Sophy'a said, staring at his limp body drooling on the landing ramp.

 _Sorry about that friend_

"Tie him up in the back." Sophy'a ordered to Hongeir who grabbed Carmari's arm and pulled him up onboard the ship. Sophy'a closed the docking ramp then ran to the Cockpit. She flicked a few switches and began ship startup procedure. An explosion erupted from the entrance of the Hanger.

Sophy'a turned the ship around and flew it out of the Hanger.

 _Just in the nick of time_ as the stern of her ship was scorched as the Hanger exploded behind her. As she left, she noticed that the Eternal Empire already had sent out Dreadnaughts and support crew as the ship burst into flames.

"Hongeir, did you already preprogram the coordinance?" Sophy'a yelled to him, trying to pilot her way away from the incoming Dreadnaughts. She heard a faint yes from the den, impressing Sophy'a

 _Perfect, I had utmost confidence in him anyway._ She said, smiling to herself. She plugged in the Datapad she stole from the Command center. Hooking it up to her own console, she used Carmari's code to bypass the Eternal Empire ship control mechanism and, as quick as she could, slave rigged the signal to follow her commands. The Dreadnoughts began closing in on Sophy'a as she finishing her calculations.

"Unidentified-"

 _Here we go_

Sophy'a pulled the lever and entered into Hyperspace.

* * *

Carmari groaned as he awoke. He stirred, and looked around. Immediately he began to panic as he looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. His vision was still blurry as he looked around...

 _He was chained up...?_

"He-He help!" Carmari yelled, trying to pull at his Bracers.  
"Oh for goodness. Quiet down runt!" Said a voice. Carmari tried to find the source, and he found it in the old looking guard who stood outside the Ship he was just at moments ago before…

 _Before they stunned me!_

"Hey, you stunned me!" Carmari said, struggling against his braces, which were tied securely onto a rack.

"That's rather harsh." Said another voice, female this time, he looked, and it was that Imperial Chiss, Sophy'a.

"Hey, Haven't I proved myself to you? What more can I do?" Carmari said, his vision getting better.

 _At least he could make out people instead of shapes_

Sophy'a sat down on a crate and sighed. "Hongeir," She said, "go to the cockpit, let me know when we get out of hyperspace."

"Sir" he nodded, then disappeared into the hallway.

The two sat in awkwardness as they both tried to avoid eye contact.

Finally, Carmari broke the silence. "Why?"

Sophy'a scoffed, "I just picked you up from an Eternal Empire dreadnaught. Your lucky you weren't shot in that Interrogation room."

"So what then?" Carmari said, "have the tables turned on the Interrogation?"  
Sophy'a was quiet for a bit. "No…" she almost whispered, "but I am curious."

Carmari raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"Your Motive" she said, eyeing him.

"My motives for what? Carmari said, adjusting himself.

"Betraying the Eternal Empire. You seemed to be in a high rank" She paused, revealing his badge. She flipped it between her fingers. "All the More reason to keep you locked here."

Carmari thought for a bit. "I didn't want that life. I wanted something more." his tone grew more serious, "I was in the Eternal Empire for nearly twenty years. My father was one of the higher ups, and he gave a job in ZSID."

"I always wanted to explore, see the Galaxy." he finished, thinking back to his father.

Sophy'a nodded. "You could have done that in the Eternal Empire."

The resentment in Carmari grew, "Not under my fathers thumb I couldn't."

"He'll be coming for me yaknow." Carmari added. "My Father hasn't been the same since my Mother's disappearance. If he knows i'm gone, he'll find me, and that means." he paused. "He'll be after you and our Empire."

Sophy'a looked up, " _Our_ Empire?"

Carmari raised his head. "The Eternal Empire is behind me, there's no going back. Especially if they learn what I did."

There was another long pause. Then Sophy'a walked over and removed his bracers. Carmari felt the pressure from his wrists go away, and rubbed his wrists.

"We'll give you a second chance, Carmari." Sophy'a said. "But remember...if I so much as think you will betray me…" She patted the blaster in her hip pocket. "This Blaster will be the least painful thing you'll experience."

Carmari gulped, then nodded.

* * *

"Sir, We are exiting hyperspace!" Hongeir called from the cockpit, and the two rushed to see the view.

Sophy'a opened the Comm channel, "Fleet, Open fire. Follow procedure three five o' nine."

The viewport lit up as a few dozen Eternal Empire supply ships were stressed down by the Imperial fleet that stood menacingly in standard trapping formation. The ship began to turn back, attempting to escape the Imperial's grasp.

Sophy'a opened the comm channel again, "Destroyers, Permission granted to launch Ion torpedos, target the engines." Immediately the Ships obeyed and fire the prepared missles out, completely stalling the supply fleet. Sophy'a smiled and sat back and slowly the Imperial ships closed in, pinching in on the ships.

"Excellent job." Sophy'a said. "Activate tractor beam, prepare boarding parties."

Carmari squeezed between Hongeir and Sophy'a, looking out into the battle going on in space.

"Those are Navy supply ships" Carmari said, pointing at the viewport.

 _Oh, Smart one he is._

"Indeed. Carrying a variety of equipment, Including several dozen grade A Starship Hyperdrives each." she said, not bothering to look his way and focused on the Battle.

"Those were supposed to go to my station on Mordon'Morar." Carmari said, crossing his arms.

 _Sigh…_

"Indeed again, except, now," She swiveled around to see Carmari, "They have been generously supplied to the Sith Empire."

Carmari shook his head, "Why do you need so many hyperdrives?"  
Sophy'a shot him a look, "getting nosy now aren't you."  
Carmari raised his hands, "Hey, i'm innocent here."  
She gave a sarcastic smirk, "I'm sure you are."

"I was actually curious too, Sir," Hongeir said, clearing his throat. Sophy'a turned and looked at Carmari, whose face was laid with enthusiasm, then at Hongeir.

"All I can say now is, these Hyperdrives are essential to my plan to get Icarus to where she wanted to go."

 _And essential to Break Veranlea out._ Sophy'a said, thinking back to her friend.

Her thoughts drifted to Carmari, who still stood and watched the Battle rage on.

 _Does he really know where Vern is?_ She thought. It was a random officer that helped capture the closest being in the galaxy she considered a friend.

 _No, Not random,_ she corrected, _the Son of someone in power..._ she thought more, _And someone who was there when she was taken, he might know something, but if not…_

She let the sentence trail off in her head then thought of her other options.

 _Icarus is too busy bidding for her own power to tell me much of use in that regard._ She thought, thinking back to what happened with the Moffs and her new "Empress" status. As far as she read from Carmari, he was _Naive_

 _Almost like a farmboy maintaining moisture vaporators.._ She chuckled to herself at the thought as she stole a glance at Carmari, who was forming the smallest glimpse of a smile.

"And now," Sophy'a said as relaxed in her seat, watched the Bigger ships pull in the helpless supply ships.

"We are finally one step closer," she paused.

"To Victory."

* * *

End of Chapter 5


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

* * *

The faint stench of sparks snuck through the helmets filter's as he walked in the zero gravity state the bridge was in. Around him was floating all sorts of debris in the now destroyed Bridge command center. Around him were three bodies that were floating adrift, blaster bolts in their chest. Behind him, a Soldier called to him, beconning him to come and see what he found. He slowly moved over to him, grabbing objects that were around the bridge and used them to pull him through space. He looked at what the he was pointing at; A terminal still functioned onboard the ship. He observed as the Soldier pulled through the manifests and noticed the new orders linked to the Shipments; Authorised by ZSID. Nodding, he lifted his hand, motioning the rest of the crew to the terminal.

A Slicer plugged his device and downloaded the remaining information, security footage, access records, everything. The officer looked back at him, telling him there wasn't much to download anyway. He nodded and commanded him to continue. He looked to the others soldiers, who were carefully conducting their orders as they were trained to do. Silently they finished their work in the vacuum of space.

The comlink beeped in his helmet, "Sir, We pulled up one from the wreck." an emotionless voice said. He motioned the techs to him with his gloved hand, and they pulled themselves to the shuttle that waited patiently outside the Bridge windows that were shattered in the explosion. The door sealed behind them and the air quickly returned, pressurising the room. He walked into the cabin of the Shuttle. He took off his helmet and handed it to the nearest man, maintaining a hard stare at the man who was kneeled before him. His torso had a blot of dried blood. Taking off his gloves, he took hold of the datapad and read through the information.

"Senior Officer Darm." He said in a gruff voice as he continued to read through the datapad, although, he saw the Man look up, his face was Young, but experienced. "Graduated Zakuul Formal Officer academy and assigned to Defense sector five Dreadnaught Prime under Captain Carmari Corvin, with duties to monitor as well as assist in any means necessary." he lifted his eyes and looked down at the now disgraced Officer.

"Clearly," he spoke with contempt, "You failed in your efforts."

"Sir Please, I had tried to warn the Captain not to bring that _Imperial_ on board, but he simply wouldn't have it!" Darm tried to explain, but he was hushed by the Man in front of him.

"Yes I see your report now." the Man said, looking to the next file on the datapad. He grunted in curiosity. "Our Imperial was a Chiss?"

Darm nodded hastily, "Yes Sir, she was. She shot me as I tried to Intervene."

"Hush now." he said as he finished the Datapad, which he then closed and handed to the nearest aid. He motioned towards the Onboard cargo bay. "Lock this one up." the guards nodded and as Darm said a quick no, one butted the rifle in the Officer's head, who then fell to the deck with a thud. The Man fixed his Uniform and adjusted his collar, his mind mechanically moving towards plans and conclusions at the Revelation that he had just heard.

"Inspector Corvin, One of our Moles picked up the Target." One of the Techs said.

The Man smiled. "We have them now."

* * *

The Mountainous terrain on Republic world Vespin was the perfect place to hide an Imperial base.

 _By official standards,_ Sophy'a corrected herself, _the Republic had long ago abandoned this world, as well as the inhabitants._

The _Cordona Blu_ landed in the camouflaged hangar bay in one of the shorter mountains. Inside crew ran to her ship to refuel and resupply. Sophy'a walked out. The Air was cool and crisp, Imperial sanitation standards made sure of that. Soon after Carmari followed after her, looking around wide eyed, which made her lighten her mood a little. After him Hongeir soon followed after. Sophy'a noticed that Carmari was receiving stare's from the soldiers that were nearby.

"Ma'am, The Empress demands a report." a Young Officer came up to Sophy'a and said. She nodded and the two looked at Carmari, who was getting a little too close to a piece of technology coupled up to the hanger floor.

She almost rolled her eyes, _Was he raised in a Barn?_ She joked.

"I'll take it in the Conference room." Sophy'a said to the Officer. The Officer saluted and quickly walked away,

 _perhaps a little too quickly..._ Sophy'a turned to Carmari.

The two made eye contact, Sophy'a could see that a question was being sent by his eyes, the question of, _What are you going to do with me now?_

Sophy'a beckoned him over with her head, and he ran to her. "Hongeir," she said as he approached, still staring at Carmari, "Go ahead of me and to the command center, I'll catch up with you." the commander saluted and ran off. Carmari approached her excitedly, "Man, This is way better than the Dreadnaughts, it's almost like being in the Barn estate on Zakuul when I was little!"

Sophy'a groaned internally and and told him to follow her.

She walked over to a console inside a small dark lit room in the base.

"So," he begun, "Why did you want to stop here?"

Sophy'a continued typing on the console. "Resupply…" she said, almost hesitating.

"Ah" Carmari said, looking back down to the floor as he leaned on the door.

 _He is getting a little too nosy._ Said Sophy'a, looking back at him. _But on the other side, there's something else about him..something else..._

* * *

Carmari walked into the room beside Sophy'a. He looked around at the Equipment the Sith Empire had in its Disposal. Just the mere fact it was different from Zakuul equipment excited him.

 _Definitely a big change from Zakuul_

He looked at the faces of the Imperials that served in the base, something about them was different. Zakuul seemed to be run by robots, who commanded robots, but these Imperials, they seemed to have a bit of a jump in their step, _They seemed to be alive._ Their energy impressed Carmari. He watched as Sophy'a clicked on the Hologram in the conference room. Appearing in holographic form was a woman who wore regal robes and had her hair arranged in Gold.

"Cipher, a congratulations is in order, how was your mission?" the Figure said. Every one of her words had a certain weight to it, almost as if fear itself shadowed her every syllable. " the mission was a complete success. Shipments of Hyperdrive are being delivered to one of our Storage world's." Sophy'a paused, "We are one step closer to Victory."

"Excellent Cipher, I had utmost confidence in you from the start!" she said, elated.

It didn't take a Tactical mind for Carmari to figure out that statement had little to no truth in it.

"I require you back on _Majesty flame._ Do it Swif-" she stopped. Carmari was thrown in front of the hologram, getting a full look at the Empress's holographic face. He lifted his hand as he levitated, feeling his throat constraining, trying to claw at the invisible hand clenched around it.

"Who. Is. This." the hologram said, each word feeling cold like a knife.

"Icarus stop." Sophy'a said, her voice raised and commanding. After a moment, Icarus let him go, he fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air.

"He is needed for the plan to work." She said, trying to help him get up, but he waved her off, stumbling to his feet.

 _What in Blazes?_ Carmari thought, his fear growing.

Moments past between the three, waiting for one of them to break the silence.

It was Icarus who finally broke it. "He is your Responsibility Cipher, Your Consequences."

He looked up at Sophy'a, who looked back at him.

Icarus continued, "I request BOTH of you back to the _Majesty's flame._ An important Envoy has arrived seeking you, Cipher. Come in Haste. Empress Icarus out." and the Hologram disappeared, along with Carmari's inexplicable fear. He adjusted his collar, grateful for being able to breath again.

"Don't mind her." Sophy'a said, as she tried to help him back on his feet. "Sith aren't exactly the talking sort."

Carmari scoffed, "Yea." he said, his voice still raw, "I think I noticed."

Sophy'a chuckled. "Yea, but what can she say," she looked lower to Carmari's torso, "You're still wearing their uniform." Carmari looked down in shock, then blushed with embarrassment.

 _By golly she has a point._

Sophy'a shrugged. "Don't worry, we have plenty of Uniforms if you feel the need."

She paused for a moment as Carmari chewed on the thought.

Carmari then put on a more determined face, "Where do I start?"

* * *

Sophy'a leaned on a wall and crossed her arms; her mind deep in thought as she waited outside the room. Finally, a cheerful voice caught her attention from the room. From behind a curtain, out walked Carmari in the rags of a captured smuggler, complete with stained and even slightly torn long jacket, trousers, absurdly high boots, and, naturally, a Hat that made him look as if it was stolen from the from a Galactic Pilgrim's holodrama.

"Out of all the clean clothes here," She began, the information for some reason not being able to compute in her head.

"You choose the ones confiscated from some outer rim outlaw?"

"Hey, it's comfy." Carmari began his defense, "I've lived in Uniforms my whole life, and." He dusted off his shoulders, and looked at his reflection. "I already am an outlaw to the Eternal Empire. Might as well look the part."

Sophy'a rolled her eyes, "Well Hotshot, be careful." she warned. "Each side you choose attracts its own enemies." As Carmari continued to fix his reflection, Sophy'a returned to her mind. Around her, Soldier's and crewmembers performed their duties to maintain the base, each one having a specific task on their mind. Suddenly The odd Young Officer from earlier came up to her again, interrupting her thoughts.

"Ma'am, he said

 _Something was wrong._ The feeling nudged her again as he approached. She eye'd him cautiously.

"You need to review this." the Officer said, holding a Datapad. Sophy'a took it and began to review it.

 _It was for the supply approval for the_ Cordona Blu _, Nothing unusual there._

In the Meantime, Sophy'a sparked up a conversation with the cadet. "Where did you transfer from Cadet?"

The officer grew confused, "Ma'am?"  
"Your Uniform is one of the newer editions." Sophy'a noted, another one of _Empress_ Icarus's updates to her new empire. "It must imply you transferred from one of the capital worlds the Empire has."

The Officer swallowed, "Yes Ma'am, I was transferred on fourth ship to Vespin, transferred here from the Imperial academy on Aruba after graduating a standard months ago."

Sophy'a thought for a moment. "Yes, I remember the Academy on Aruba. I was in the training program for Close Melee combat skills under Commander Empion."

The man's face lit up, "Ah yes, Professor Empion! I remember studying under him. Remember it like it was yesterday!"

"He must've have come out of retirement, which he was in for the past Ten years." she looked up at the Officer, who was now sweating profusely.

She looked at the manifest "Cadet...Luski is it?"

Immediately the officer's lifted up a to punch Sophy'a square in the cheek, but Sophy'a anticipating the blow, let the hand fly above her. She quickly moved her hand, and forced the small human sloppily stumbling back. The two stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the next blow. He ran towards Sophy'a, intending to tackle her. Unfortunately for him, Sophy'a simply dived out of the way before he managed to get hold of her. Sophy'a still caught the blow of his elbow, which slammed into her face, causing her to stumble to the ground. She raised her hand to her face. _No Blood, but it hurt._ Carmari ran towards her, seeing the conflict. "Who are you?" he said, trying to help Sophy'a get up.

"Traitor!" Luski said, and ran off towards the entrance of the Base.

Sophy'a got on her feet, "Stop that man!" she shouted, and the two began to chase after him. They saw Luski dodge Man after man who tried to tackle him. One trooper got close, but he simply staggered and continued to run. The small mob of people chasing after Luski soon approached the base hangar doors.

 _He was trying to steal a ship._

Imperial troops began to open fire on the escapee.

Finally, Sophy'a loaded a powerpack into her Pistol and shot Luski, hitting him precisely in his leg. He grunted, giving a few soldiers the few precious seconds to tackle him to the floor. Two of them brought him to Sophy'a and Carmari, beating him back down to his knees.

"Who are you?" Sophy'a said, pointing her blaster to him.

There was a pause, but Luski looked to Carmari and opened his Mouth. "It's too late…you'll...get yours….Traitor" he nearly spat on his boots. He soon then lost consciousness.  
Sophy'a looked at Carmari, "what is he talking about?"

A Large rumbling could be heard within the valley. Both Sophy'a and Carmari looked up, the wind picked up and the tree's shuffled in the air. Behind Sophy'a's now flowing hair, she saw the signature look of an Eternal Empire fleet in close orbit, bearing down on the base below. The two looked at each other in Horror, but before they could say anything, one of the Dreadnaughts approached, and after a few moments, a Giant hologram appeared in the space between them and the dreadnaught. On the hologram was an elderly man, War torn with a great many medals on a crisp uniform, similar to the one Carmari once wore.

The Hologram began to speak, "This is Admiral Corvin of the Eternal Empire." Sophy'a could see terror grow on Carmari's face. "I am aware that you are in occupation of a Traitor." a long pause as all eyes turned to Carmari. "If you do not want to sacrifice the Empire's neutrality, You will bring him to me, and then I will Bring you all to Justice. The Eternal Empire doesn't take your raids lightly. Prepare yourselves for retribution…" the Hologram shut off. Sophy'a stood there for a moment, like the others, trying to comprehend it all. Then, Sophy'a grabbed her comlink. "Hongeir, Prepare the Autoturret defenses, and call an evacuation." Explosions rumbled the the ground as the Eternal Empire began to fire on the base.

 _The Autoturrets should keep them busy until we get our people out of here._

"Sir, We can't just retreat!" Hongeir tried to argue.

Sophy'a was having none of it, "Commander," she said in a stern voice, "Look to the sky, then give me a new answer!"

A pause.

"Acknowledged, Admiral, sending orders now." Hongeir said.

Sophy'a called to the Soldier's around her. "Leave him! Get to your transports!" the Soldier's obeyed and began running inside the safety of their hanger doors. Sophy'a then looked to Carmari, who stood with an open mouth. He looked to Sophy'a, "Hey, I didn't do this." his voice was shaky and afraid.

 _I don't have time for this._ She shushed Carmari, "Later," She said, "now get to the Ship."

* * *

The Eternal Empire Bombardment utterly destroyed anything and anyone that was outside the Hanger. Around him, Carmari heard alarm bells ring, Soldiers moving as fast as they could to move and evacuate. Around him was the inaudible screaming of officers to their subordinates, who obeyed without question.

 _Loyalty or Death_ the Mantra appeared in his mind again, along with fear. They had found him.

 _Sooner than he ever expected._ But they found him. Carmari heard the sound of metal slamming into the base, and from the room, Drop-pods wedged through, dropping down Eternal Empire battle droids. He saw Sophy'a draw her Pistol and firing it into two Droids that stood in front of her.

 _Raid Droids._

Just as the two fell, but more simply came and started to fire

"Run" Sophy'a yelled, dodging the droids attacks.  
"Hey!" Carmari yelled amidst the confusion and the sound of Battle, "I need a Weapon!"

Around them Soldiers and crew were cut down by the droids, Sophy' crouched down and grabbed a rifle that was lying nearby, tossing one to Carmari, and the two raced towards the open hanger.

"Come on!" Sophy'a said, motioning her hands to the shuttles were docked in the Hanger. The Soldier's retreated with the Eternal Empire right on their tail. A defensive perimeter was formed as personel ran towards the shuttles.

Hongeir approached them, using his Officer's issue blaster to defend himself. "Sir," he called to Sophy'a, blaster bolts barely scratching him as he ran. The two ducked behind cover as more troopers loaded into the shuttle. In the meantime, Carmari sprayed another series of blasts, but the blasts bounced off their heavy armor, and now even more began to drop from the roof. The fear in Carmari grew as the endless series of droids keep coming. He tried to breath, calm himself down. More and more droids fell, but there were still too many.

After a few moments, Hongeir interrupted them, switching off his comlink. "Sir!" Hongeir said, "the last of the men are being loaded on board, we can leave at your liking." Another round of Droids dropped to the floor. But Sophy'a sat there, staring into space for more than a moment. She shook it off, and rose up, "Everyone, Go!" she ordered, and the Troopers obeyed, running into the _Cordona Blu._ Carmari rose and fired at the nearest targets, then ran to the docking ramp. The two fired a couple of shots to the nearest Droids, then ran to the docking ramp, taking cover as the last Troopers got in. "Hongeir, get in!" Sophy'a yelled, as she helped a trooper get up after he was shot square in the shoulder. Hongeir obliged and pulled the wounded soldier aboard. Carmari stood with Sophy'a as the droids came closer and closer to the landing ramp. _Time to go!_ Carmari flipped over and got on the ramp, continuing to fire, but Sophy'a was nothing of the sort.

"Hey!" He said.

She ignored him and continued firing.

"Sophy'a!" he called. She looked up, a look of something Carmari has never seen in her before.

"We need to go!" he said, grabbing her arm. She looked away and ran onboard the ramp.

* * *

 _It was too familiar_

The Running and screaming,

 _This can't be happening again_

Sophy'a ran aboard her ship. "Hongeir, Carm" she said, her voice shaky, or perhaps it was the ship shaking because of all the droids firing on it. She tried to hide it as best she could; "Get us away from here." from that point her vision got blurry as she sat down, trying to calm herself down.

 _The smell of smoke, laser's roasting flesh, the clanking of droids._

She sat down next to the now closed boarding door. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, and hid her head in her lap as she sat with bent knees.

 _Veranlea flashed back into her head_

Sophy'a felt her arms press into her head, her hair graciously giving her face cover. She peaked out, and saw the Men and women under her command. They were trying to gather themselves in the cabin of the ship. Most of them were wounded. Sophy'a wiped her face on her sleeve, sniffed, and tried to make herself look decent. She shook her face, stood up and walked to the Soldiers, who were too busy trying to patch themselves up. She noticed one Man, who sat alone, his shoulder stained in blood. Sophy'a got a cloth from her supply boxes and bent down, lifting her hand to clean the wound.

"What's your name soldier?" she said, as she dabbed the cloth on his shoulder, a Laser blast had striked in the upper region.

The soldier gasped in pain, Alcohol stinging the raw flesh, "Korvonin." he tried to lift his arm to cover his wounded shoulder, which Sophy'a continued to try and clean. It was bleeding, but by Sophy'a's look, it didn't hit any major arteries.

"Your lucky," Sophy'a commented, trying to ignore a man screaming in pain on the other side of the room, "Nothing too bad, A little Kolto and you'll be well again."

Korvonin gave a weak smile, "Thank you, Ma'am."  
The man was quiet until Sophy'a found some Medicinal Alcohol, which she slowly rubbed on his shoulder, his voice joined the screaming from before. After she finished cleaning the wound, she set a bandage carefully on the wound. Korvonin was already asleep.

 _Or passed out…_

She looked around, blood and empty bandage wrappers littered the floor. She studied the faces of the Men and Women who just escaped from Battle.

Imperial training had trained her to cast away grief, but it could never get rid of it.

* * *

Veranlea lay dormant until a sharp pain in the Force awoke her.

 _Sophy'a_

The feeling grew, it was pain, fear, grief, the Dark side.

Veranlea felt it through the Force, Something happened.

Her connection to Sophy'a was weak now, because of her lack of Strength in the Force at this place, but the bond between her friend was still something that could be felt. And now, it was going off the charts. Anger began to flow, Anger at the Eternal Empire, at the Emperor, at the ones who tried to hurt her. The fact she couldn't do a thing because she was locked up in a cell that drained her force energy...

She began to scream, the equipment and electric binding's started to spew sparks. An Alert was put out, and Guards ran into her cell, Saber's in hand. Veranlea simply sent them flying into the wall, crushing them inside their armor. She could feel The Dark side of the Force flowed around her as more things seemed to crush and crack around her. The Lights went out completely.

Shrieks of metal crushing together began to be heard. Anger grew more fierce inside of her.

Suddenly, all that stopped.

 _What in Blazes?_

She was in a Meadow. A calm and peaceful setting. Around her grass made waves with the wind. Above her, a Bird flew, it flew straight, so Veranlea followed, running through. The Day got darker and darker, to the point where the bird couldn't be seen. But it was, Veranlea could feel it, she _Knew_ it was there. Suddenly a piercing shriek assaulted Veranlea's ears, causing a sensory overload.

The last thing she saw was a darkness, but a light stood alone in the center.

 _Again...seriously..?_

Then Everything then went black.

* * *

Carmari sat in the copilot's seat as Hongeir hit the hyperspace lever, and blue streaks lit up the cockpit. He took a breath of relief. Hongeir looked to him, with an almost angry look.  
"This is your fault you know." he said, his words dripping with Anger.

Carmari simply stared at him, completely in pain, not knowing what to say.

"Your lucky the Admiral needs you." he said, and turned back to monitor the ship's controls.

Carmari simply hanged in shame.

 _He might be right…._

He walked out of the cockpit and to the main deck of the ship, Sith troopers stood and sat around the once clean deck. each one trying to help each other cover their wounds. He saw Sophy'a getting up just after she finished wrapping a bandage on a Soldiers arm.

Then she looked at him.

She looked away hastily, and walked towards the back of the ship

 _Follow her._ He said to himself.

After a moment of building up the courage, he slowly followed her through the ship.

She was sitting in the engine room, her knees to her face and her head looking down. She didn't argue as he sat down next to her. Carmari wanted to open his mouth to say something, but didn't, not finding the words to say.

Sophy'a was the one to talk instead, "Before you say a word." Carmari gulped.

"I Know it wasn't you." This time, Carmari was in utter disbelief.

"How? I'm from Zakuul, the Admiral came here looking for me." Carmari said, feeling the blame on himself grow.

"It wasn't you." She said. "I am sure of it."

This time Carmari knew not to argue. He sighed, and heard Sophy'a do likewise.

"I Forgive you." she said, her voice shaking.

"So what now?" He said, simply avoiding eye contact.

Sophy'a looked at him, with a look that he wouldn't give even unto his worst enemy.

"Now, We're going to make them pay."

* * *

"You may speak, Cipher, Welcome back to the _Majesty's flame."_ Icarus said.

Sophy'a, who was now stood before Icarus with a full night's rest, a santi-steam bath, and a new outfit.

"Our losses were minimum," she began, "but the base on Vespin is gone." her voice trailed off.

"Ah, it must have been your Captured Zakuulian." Icarus said, "Traitor's do not go unpunished, as you know."

Sophy'a tensed up, "I had him monitored a majority of the time." She thought back to him onboard the ship. "It wasn't him, But a undercover agent who lowered our defenses and alerted the Eternal Empire of our arrival." She paused, "We had heard of such agents, but this was our first encounter with one in our system."

"I see." Icarus said, her voice brooding.

"He was only a cadet, however, it does pose the question, how far can they get in the Chain of command."

Icarus tapped her fingers on her dark throne, "That is a concern I want you to monitor, Cipher, do not let this happen again."

At this point, Sophy'a barely considered her threats, only acknowledging it with a nod.

"You May have started a Political War, Cipher." Icarus said broodingly, "With that Traitor in our care."

"Enough blood was spilt on Vespin to counter that."

A moment passed, "I sense conflict within you, Cipher."

"It's nothing." Sophy'a said, almost hastily.

 _She is using the Force to try and probe my mind.  
_ Icarus nodded, "It could mean nothing, or it could mean everything. I hope you aren't...reconsidering our arrangement, Cipher."

 _That's what she's afraid of._

"No, You are Empress of the Empire," It almost hurt Sophy'a saying that, "My allegiance is to the Empire, and for the success of you and I both."

Icarus nodded approvingly. "Excellent." then stood up. "I have a New mission for you, an errand if you will."

"I'm no Errand-girl Icarus." Sophy'a said, with a bit of anger on the edge of her words.

"Ah," Icarus said, "Let me explain. Recently, an envoy has arrived in our airspace, hoping to talk to you." She lifted her hand, pointing at a Droid who walked towards her from the entrance of the Palace.

 _It was a golden Protocol droid, Republic model it seems._ As she determined from the Republic emblem on the droids left shoulder plate.

 _What is Icarus thinking?  
_ "Greetings!" the droid said. Sophy'a rolled her eyes. She had forgotten how these droids seem to act, _almost as if they were programmed that way!_

"I am CN-91! It is an absolute pleasure to finally be in the presence of the mighty Empress of the Sith."'

Icarus formally blushed, "Your too kind."  
 _I don't like this. I don't like this one bit._

"I am here representing the leadership of the Republic of Core worlds." the droid said, looking between the two. "The Master asks for an audience _In Person_ with a dignitary from the Sith Empire."

Icarus looked to Sophy'a. "You shall go. I have business to attend to." She walked to her throne and slowly lowered herself into it, returning to the darkness which enveloped her "And take that Traitor with you," She said nonchalantly. "He cant be running around in my empire."

 _His name is Carmari._ She said, but shook it off and kept her cool.

"As you wish." she said, and turned her heels and walked back to the door.

"Splendid!" the droid said, "I shall meet you in moments at the Hanger to escort you to Republic city!"

Carmari leaned back in the copilot chair as he watched the viewport. Lightspeed glowed and illuminated the viewport. He was eating a bar of some tasty imperial rations he found in the ships cargo hold _._ He looked to Sophy'a, who was monitoring monitors and switches.

"So we're we heading?" Carmari said, swallowing the final few bits of food.

"An Envoy arrived to Icarus requesting we follow him to his home planet." Sophy'a said.

"Ah," Carmari said, finishing the bar. "What for?"  
"They wanted someone to talk to, whatever happens is anyone's guess."

"What do you guess?" he said.

"My first guess is that they wish an alliance. The Eternal Empire has been rubbing everyone in the galaxy the wrong way." She paused, Carmari felt a pang of guilt. "It's most likely they got tired of it and they want to make big friends." Carmari nodded. A moment of silence passed.

"Hey, um." Carmari began, "that was my Father back on Vespin."

Sophy'a looked at him, Carmari couldn't tell what was going on her head, but he could tell, he wouldn't like it. "You did say your Father would come looking for you. We should have expected it after the Battle. But the only reason our transports werent shot down was because he wouldn't fire on the ships with you in it." Carmari understood now. His father didn't want to kill him... _But he wasn't sure if that was true for anyone who stood in his way._

"We can't keep running forever." Carmari said.

"No…" Sophy'a said, her voice trailing off as she pulled a Lever, instantly taking them out of hyperspace. In Front of the viewport was a massive planet, with lights and starships lining the space around it.

 _This is almost like Zakuul...but its not._

"But we can improve our chance's." she finished.

The comlink cracked open; "Unidentified Light Freighter, this is Republic space command, Please state your business."

"Republic space command, this is light freighter A8-3106 with Protocol envoy droid CN-91 requesting permission to dock near the Republic plaza" Sophy'a said into the comlink. A few moments passed, and a battleship came into view. Out from it, two starfighters to their right and left flank. Anxious thoughts formed in Carmari's head. "What if this is a trap?" Carmari said, a bit panicked,

Sophy'a opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly the comlink turned on, "Permission granted for Freighter A8-3106; to dock in Republic Plaza, please follow the escort given to you or suffer the consequences."

"Acknowledged Republic space command." Sophy'a said, "Told you." she said, turning her head towards Carmari, whose face now turned a bit pink. Carmari continued to look towards the planet, which was only coming out of its night cycle as the sun's rays came into view.

"Ah, you're here!" a Mechanical voice said. "The Master will be most pleased."

"Welcome to Coruscant."

End of Chapter 6


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

* * *

Sophy'a slowly guided the ship in the heavy coruscanti atmosphere, passing by narrow rows of airspeeder traffic.

"It's funny," Sophy'a said, her eyes carefully trained on the sky around them, "The way I thought i'd arrive here would be to spy on their government, not to negotiate with them." her escorts peeled off as she lowered the ship down on the designated landing pad; a octagonal shaped platform extending from a main plaza.

"Hey, remember," Sophy'a said, giving Carmari an almost pleading look, "these types of operations are...delicate." she got up from her seat, "Don't say a word," her tone became stern, "let me do the talking." she implored him.

Carmari looked towards her, "Hah, don't worry," he said, getting up as well, "I've had my share of talks," he waltzed passed her and started to make for the boarding ramp, nonchalantly pressing the button to lower it, "Trust me, I wouldn't want to talk anyway." A rush of cool air rushed into the ship as the ramp hit the ground. As Carmari walked down the ramp, the Protocol droid from before, the CN unit, came to greet them, but stopped in confusion.

"Oh, Terribly sorry sir!" he said, not recognising the man who just walked out of the ship, "I do apologise, Sir! I do believe this ship was instead owned by a Representative for the Sith Empire."  
"That would be me." Sophy'a said, giving Carmari a small smirk and down to the platform.

 _So much for Professionalism._ Sophy'a said to herself, adjusting her collar.

"Ah, Greetings Mistress! My Master has already prepared for your arrival, please, follow me!" Sophy'a and Carmari followed the droid down the platform and to the entrance. The floor they walked on was covered in red carpet and the entrance to the Senate building was a grand artwork of Gold and other precious metals from across the Galaxy. The Sides of the path had banners of all the different species that were members of the senate being represented. Every few meters had topiary trees which shook in the light breeze. Strings of lights and large bright banners also were hanged around on poles and over the trees.

Carmari whispered to her, "I almost wished I had worn something more…"

"Casual?" Sophy'a said, noticing the glares they were receiving from the beings they walked past.

"Something like that." Carmari nodding his head from side to side.

She looked around at the Human and Aliens that strolled around her. Despite many aliens being among the onlookers, even they around her looked at her with some kind of contempt behind their eyes. They looked at her for a moment, then silently went on with whatever they were doing. Sophy'a let a little anger grow inside of her, but shook it off and took a deep breath.

"Whys there so much construction?" Carmari asked as he looked around, seeing the many construction machines and cranes that surrounded the senate building among various other buildings in the skyscape.

The droid answered, "Over Coruscant lengthy History, It has long been under the eye of Invaders. Around six standard years ago, the Sith Empire was one such Invader." Carmari looked at Sophy'a, who blushed slightly, "Really." he said, raising an eyebrow.

"I wasn't active in the Battle." Sophy'a said, shaking her head. "It was long after I was stationed on Mordon'Morar"

"And later, the Eternal Empire put a fee on our supplies beyond a certain point, limiting on our ability for reconstruction." the droid concluded.

Sophy'a nodded, agreeing with the droid. _I have no idea if the Empire had that kind of cap, but considering the state it was in, I don't think it would've been hard to let the empire be on its own like it was._

The droid continued on then stopped them at a security checkpoint. "Please place all your Weapons here, as they will not be allowed when you go in to see my Master."

She hesitantly placed her Pistols and both knife's on the rack, and Carmari did the same, only he simply carried a sidearm.

"Any communication devices are forbidden as well." it said, looking down at their comlinks.

 _This droid might as well ask for an arm and a leg._ She joked, dropping her comlink on the rack.

"Fear Not," the droid said, noticing their faces, "You are allowed to retrieve your equipment at your departure from the Senate Plaza, now please, this way."

The droid walked them across the main lobby, each step the three making another _Tap_ sound among the dozens of other beings walking along with them. A turbolift which was placed at the far end of the senate plaza. The Droid led them inside and, at the press of a button, closed the doors, allowing the turbolift to shoot up at near discomforting speeds. Sophy'a used the time to review on her plan, thought up things to say, possible introductions for herself and Carm, but before she could even formulate something comprehensive, the Turbolift doors opened out to another smaller lobby.

 _Take a deep breath._ She remembered, feeling more anxious as time went on..

She looked at Carmari, who was already looking at her as they walked out of the turbolift into the room. It was small, with only a small reception area. It was decorated with small red couches placed near the walls and artificial vegetation, as well as long robed bronze statues looking to hold something only Jedi and Sith wielded.

 _Lightsabers._

"Ah, Welcome." the Secretary said, typing away on his computer. "The Chancellor will meet you Inside."

 _The Chancellor himself…_ The fact that the Chancellor himself decided this matter needed to be taken personally added to her anxiety.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carmari having a similar look in his eyes.

"Thanks." Carmari said as the three walked by the reception desk, who just nodded. The droid led the two down a hallway then to a set of doors. The Doors slid open to reveal a wide and open office, decorated in the same style as the reception area and covered in a regal republic Red and hints of Gold. Guards dressed in Red robes stood silently, moving their heads and keeping their eyes on the two new arrivals. A small wooden desk was placed in front of three chairs, The wall on the far opposite of her was a window that gave the viewer a wonderful display of the Coruscant atmosphere. In Front of that window stood a Man, his hands behind his back, looking out to the Coruscant skyscape. He then turned around, setting his eyes upon the two.  
"Ah, Welcome to Coruscant." The Man said, bowing. His voice was old, but smooth, and felt aged. His hair and beard was greying, and wrinkles were already forming on his forehead. His armor creaked and he bowed.

Sophy'a herself bowed in response. She noticed Carmari's hesitation. She grunted quietly, grabbing Carmari's attention. He noticed his mistake and bowed himself.

 _I wonder if it's obvious to him yet that this is a different galaxy then what he knows._

Sophy'a returned her attention to the Man which stood before her. Her eyes grew in surprise as she saw a pair of gleaming lightsabers hanging in plain view from his belt.

"I am Chancellor Malcomic," he extended his hands,

"Please, take a seat."

* * *

"Would you like any Refreshments?" the Chancellor of the Republic said as they sat down in the desk in front of him.

"Water will do just fine." Sophy'a said.

Carmari thought for a bit, then, nervously, choose water as well.

 _Or was that how beings here show insult?_

"Sorry, Sir, I'm not used to the customs here."

The Chancellor chuckled, "That's All-right, its seems we're all out " finally he sat down as well, slowly lowering himself into the cushioned chair. "I Must admit," He started, "I expected the Empire to send someone….different." He waited a moment. "My apologies, if it offended you."

"I didn't expect a Jedi to be Chancellor of the Republic." Sophy'a countered. Carmari began to panic,

 _What was she doing?_

But the man chuckled, "True, quite a journey it was."

"Perhaps you would grace us with the story." Sophy'a said.

The Chancellor chuckled, "Perhaps another time, but for the Present, What are your names, or should I call you Mr and Ms Imperial Envoy's?"  
Carmari could see her face blush ever so slightly, "You may call me Cipher Nine, and this is my associate, Carmari,"

"Your Excellency." Carmari said, nodding.

"A name for one, but not for the other...curious." the Chancellor clapped his hands together. "In any case, now that we got pleasantries out of the way..." a Droid arrived setting the drinks before them, the Chancellor face beamed. He nodded and looked first at Sophy'a, then to Carmari, "We can get down to business."

 _In other words, a boring conversation._ Carmari thought, almost yawning and relaxing himself in his chair.

"My sources tell me of major reforms in the recent history of the Sith Empire." the Chancellor started, taking a sip from his mug, "I wanted to confirm firsthand."

Sophy'a responded, "you are correct, to an extent, Chancellor."

"Hm," the Chancellor said, "I see. The reason I called you here is," he paused, looking at both of them again, "Well, we require your assistance, Cipher Nine."

"What do you mean?" Carmari said, hastily regretting it as he saw Sophy'a give him a glare.

"Your activities have not gone unnoticed in the Galaxy." The Chancellor begun. "Many in the Republic as well have noticed the new rising power that is the Sith Empire. Their New Empress is certainly causing a commotion."

Carmari thought back to her one and _hopefully_ only time seeing her, then could see that the Chancellor was right.

"In truth," the Chancellor said soberly, "The Empress causing a political uproar. Senators are raging for her head before she stikes off ours, however," he paused,

"Some of us here," the Chancellor continued, "Could see the benefit in a mutual relationship, if even for a moment."  
"What are you supposed?" Sophy'a said, her voice noticeably skeptical.

"A simple mutual Business arrangement, nothing more." he said, stroking his beard.

"Concerning?" Sophy'a asked.

"Your Raids on the Eternal Empire." he said. Carmari's eyes grew wide open, but Sophy'a remained calm, Carmari couldn't tell what was going on in her head.

"The SIS hasn't been sitting on their hands, my friends." Chancellor clarified. "We know well about the incognito raids that sypon little victories from the Eternal Empire. The Republic would very grateful for a portion for those supplies for our needs."

"What's in it for the Empire?" Sophy'a asked, crossing her arms.

"In Exchange," The Chancellor said, "the Republic will extend an olive branch towards the Empire, and wont instead give the information we've gathered to those in charge over at the Eternal Empire."

Sophy'a's face grew darker as well and her voice grew hard. "Intimidation is hardly the Jedi way, Chancellor."

The Chancellor leaned in his chair, "Unfortunately, I also have a Republic to take care of."

"Wait," Carmari said, "what if there could be another way?"

"Carm" Sophy'a said, but Carmari continued, "We're in possession of the Eternal Empire's prisoner data;" He paused, as everyone leaned in to listen. "The captured Jedi of the Eternal Empire."

"Carm!" Sophy'a said, more stern.

"If what you say is True," The Chancellor said, "And if they are alive...I must be given time for the senate to consider such an offer. More Jedi by our side would be…" he paused, his voice growing sorrowful, "encouraging at the least." He lifted himself up from his chair. "Until then, You are free to leave and enjoy the Republic capital, arrangements had been made for your resting of course." The two got up and bowed,

"A pleasure, Chancellor." said Sophy'a.

"Thank you, rather. I will alert you when the senate has come to a decision." He said, turning his back to them and began to stare out the Window at the vast row of unfinished buildings and speeder traffic.

"Until then…" the Chancellor said, his voice trailing off. "May the Force be with you."

"This way," the Protocol droid said, as he escorted the two outside to the turbolift. The droid pressed the lever and sent the turbolift down to its destination.

* * *

 _What was he thinking?_

"What were you thinking?" Sophy'a yelled as she slammed Carmari onto the wall, her arm pressing against his throat, pinning him to the turbolift cart wall.

"Relax!" Carmari said, trying to take a breath.

"Relax?" She said, "We aren't in possession of that Information! AT. ALL. We cannot make good on that deal!"

"I..Am…" Carmari said. Sophy'a let go of him, allowing him to breath and left some oxygen get to his brain

 _Because it was obvious that it wasn't working before._

"Explain." she said, her voice hard and cold.

"Look," Carmari began, "the Eternal Empire keeps Data in circulation throughout the galaxy when it wants to keep it secretive, this is nearly the same technology as with the dreadnaught's slave rigging."  
Sophy'a nodded. "So you don't have the information." she said, her voice saturated with anger. The door to the turbolift slid open and the two walked over to where their weapons were placed. The gathered them from the racks and slid them into their hoisters.

"No…" Carmari said, "But I know how to get it."

* * *

A few moments later they were in a speeder heading towards the Hotel that the Chancellor had reserved for the two. When Sophy'a got off the speeder and approached the lobby, a Man greeted them, his uniform dressed in a golden shade of red, and hair was slicked back with gel. His short muschtashe as well was similarly covered in the substance.

"Welcome to _500 Republica!"_ the man said.

 _500 Republica_ was a newly looking built structure specifically for dignitaries and senators. It was built nearly a few kilometers from the Senate and even had private transportation to the senate and back. According to what her driver said, there was also a nice bustling market a short walk away, complete with restaurants, resorts, and spas.

Immediately Sophy'a heightened her senses.

"May I Take your bags?" He said, already moving his hands towards Sophy'a's luggage brought onboard from the _Cordona Blu._

"No." She said, hastefully. The Man backed off, fear momentarily striking his eyes, but he shook it off. "And you, Sir?" He said, motioning to Carmari.

"Sure." he said, handing him the small carry on.

"Excellent!" he said joyously as he took it.

"What was that about?" Carmari said, noticing Sophy'a's reaction to the Bellhop.

"He snuck up on me." She said, walking faster now. She saw Carmari shrug then follow behind her and the bellhop. The three gathered in a turbolift and it shot up. As the turbolift went up, it gave them a wonderful view of the senate building as the evening grew. Sophy'a looked around to the subtle hints of wealth located around the lift, little bars of gold and silver built directly into the walls around her.

 _Very Expensive._ She thought.

The turbolift dinged and immediately the assistant went out, and Sophy'a and Carmari followed him down a hallway until they came to two opposite rooms.

"Your Room is on the Left, Ms," the Assistant said, handing Sophy'a the key. The two looked at the door, then back to the assistant.

"My name is Jacklim, if you should ever need anything, My information is in the rooms. Don't forget to remember to join us for Founders day tomorrow evening!"

 _Founders day? Would account for the decorations and ribbons outside._ The assistant stepped back, "And Enjoy your stay." he turned his heels and walked off. Sophy'a let the scanner scan the key and, with a small beep, unlocked the door. Sophy'a and Carmari walked inside and look around; The room was decorated lavishly with highly priced Decorations mounted on the wall. The suite was divided by a large den coupled with a small kitchen, with two closed bedrooms on either side. The back wall of the den was made of glass and led out into a balcony. Sophy'a looked out to see the Jedi Temple in the far background of the skyscape, the sun setting behind its remains.

"So what's the plan now?" Carmari said, walking in and taking a deep breath. Sophy'a looked at the chrono watch, "It's late," Sophy'a said, almost sounding tired. "Best to sleep early so we can actually deliver that information you owe the most powerful Man in the Republic." Sophy'a made sure her distaste was made obvious just by hearing her tone of voice. "If we cant get that information, that means no alliance with the Republic, and itd be near impossible with "  
"Ah," Carmari said, his face moping. He dropped his bag and plopped himself in the couch. It was lower than he expected, as Sophy'a saw his face grew terrified as his body dropped far lower than he liked, very nearly catching himself. Which made her mood a little lighter, she even almost laughed, but she revealed it in a slight smirk.

"Im heading to bed," She excused herself, "Goodnight." she walked towards the door hastily.  
"Goodnight." Carmari called behind her, she then closed the door and locked it. She sighed and took the band out of her hair, letting it flow down. She quickly threw it on the nearby desk and changed out of the Imperial uniform she wore. She took a deep breath.

 _How long has it been since I slept in a warm bed?_ She gasped, nearly fooling herself to believe she could relax in peace.

 _Has bringing him ruined the entire operation? Not just on Coruscant, but with finding Vern?_

The question haunted her as she fell on the bed and tried to fall to sleep,

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Sophy'a said to Carmari as they walked on the coruscanti street. The air was cold and smelled like metal, and only a light breeze rolling between the massive skyscrapers were the only indications for him that this was a planet and not some kind of advanced atmospheric biome that was popular on His home.

 _Zakuul._ He thought, reminiscing back to his home, the street reminded him of the climate and surroundings, on his once home world. A twinge of pain found its way into his thoughts, on his father and his home hunting him down, marking him down as a traitor.

 _Loyalty or Death…_

At least the planet was in celebration, with Founders day celebratory booths and floating balloons in the streets.

"You don't actually have a plan to catch the coded information; And even _if you do_ get hold of it, it would take time to crack the encryption module to actually make the information useable."

"And its possible it wouldn't work at all." Carmari finished, only earning a simple roll of the eyes from Sophy'a. She was wearing civilian gear, a light jacket with a hood, loose pants, as well as a pair of shades to cover her red eyes from over curious bystanders and excited children wondering which planet she was from.

Carmari imagined for a moment the idea of a whole planet of her species, only to internally shudder in response.

"Look," he said, trying to ease her thoughts, "Encryption models should be easy to crack, if you know the pool of sequences, the models changes nearly every week, but most are variations of each other, so they shouldn't be too hard to figure out."

"Have you ever done it?" Sophy'a asked, an eyebrow raised.

"No…" Carmari said, hanging his head lower in shame.

"Wonderful." she said.

"But we'll get to that issue when we get there." Carmari said, "For now, we need to actually get that information and equipment to give to the Republic; which means we'll need a Holodata net." he turned his head to Sophy'a, "Any ideas?"  
"Hmm," Sophy'a said, suddenly her face lit up, "A few…"

* * *

 _Out of all the Wretched hives of scum and villainy in the Galaxy_ Sophy'a thought as she looked around.

 _This one must be the cleanest._

Around her, Humans and Aliens alike relaxed and enjoyed themselves as the lively music played.

 _For once, a Cantina was actually clean._ Sophy'a noticed how her own civilian clothing and shade's to hide her red eyes were almost nearly in match with how the beings around her dressed; not distinctly poor, but very noticeably not high class. Everything from the aesthetics to the atmosphere to the very drinks served at the bar also helped with her conclusion.

"Why are we here?" Carmari whispered in her ear as the two walked into the Cantina.

Sophy'a sighed, "The best place to find something you want is at somewhere like this."  
"But where do we start?" Carmari said, looking around very paranoid.

"Try to act like you belong." She demand him, eyeing him from his head to his toes

 _At least he looks the part_

"and please," she paused, "Don't cause trouble."

Carmari scoffed, "Look around," he said, referencing the crowd with his hand, "I dont think itll be that bad." Carmari then nearly got knocked back by a being who brushed way too closely with his shoulder.

"Hey!" she heard Carmari said, only looking to see a large Ithorian who made a very angry sounding grunted sound from his vocal boxes. He walked closer, looking down to Carmari, who then raised his hands. "Hey," he said, "forget about it." he smiled nervously. The Ithorian grunted and promptly walked towards where the gambling and screaming was taking place.

Sophy'a looked at him, shaking her head. _you got lucky._

Carmari seemed to give an awkward smirk and then walked past her. The two took a seat at two available spots at the Bar, Ordering refreshments. The bartender, a Twi'lek, nodded, and starting preparing their drinks, "Sure thing," he paused, "Pantoran." he grunted

Sophy'a's gave off a noticeable display of confused frustration, luckily as the bartender's back was turned. She heard Carmari give away a small but noticeable laugh. Sophy'a shrugged it off and took subtle looks around, looking around at the various beings. On the other side of the bar, beings cheer and cried as a racing match drew to its conclusion.

The drinks were slid in mugs on the wooden countertop, She took a sip of the clear liquid, tasting it, _fine, for a fruit drink, decent._

A tap on her shoulder, immediately her senses were activated and instinctively looked behind her. It was a Human male in his early thirties; he had short brown hair and a long scar running down his cheek.

"Excuse me, Miss, I couldn't help but notice from my booth back there," he pointed with his twitching thumb over his shoulder to a small shady booth, where an Ugnaught and a Gran sat, the two giving them a subtle nod. "That you were quite possibly one of the most beautiful Chiss this side of the Black Maw."

Sophy'a's face grew dark. _Yep, thats him._

"What do you want?" Carmari cut off the man, a hint of anger in his voice.

"What my friend means to say," Sophy'a said, turning around to the man, "We've been expecting you. What is your name?"

The man chuckled, "Really? Well, You can call me Tomkel. I run a small enterprise and," he pointed back towards the booth again,"by the way you are looking around, something tells me You," he paused, _For dramatic effect, naturally,_ and pointed at her, "Need a special job done."

Sophy'a raised an eyebrow, "And what would that job be?"

Tomkel chuckled, "For the right price, any job could be done." he tossed a coin at the bartender, "come on," he told the two, "we'll talk more in the booth."

* * *

Carmari squeezed next to another Ugnaught that was sitting at Tomkel's table. The Ugnaught made a complaining squeal as he was squished between two much larger beings trying to fit into the booth.

 _I don't like this,_ He said as he stared at Tomkel, whose eyes were glued on Sophy'a, _I don't like this one bit._

"You can take the shade's off." Tomkel said, referring to Sophy'a.

"I had rather keep them on," Sophy'a said sternly.

"Fair enough." the man said raising his hands in defeat.

"Answer me this," She said, "How did you see who I was?"

"Simple really." Tomkel began, "We got a hint that told us Imperial's were taking a visit to the wonderful City of Spires. It is common knowledge that the Empire hires Chiss for some of its more clandestine missions." he leaned in closer, "we had also received word that they were residing in the upper levels, from there, it was simple to place a few of my people around to, keep watch." the two noticed Tomkel nodding. Following the Nod, Carmari saw the Ithorian from earlier nod back.

 _Why that scum…_

"What exactly do you all hope to offer us?" Sophy'a said, wanting to get exactly where Carmari wanted to. _To the Point._

"As a matter of fact, My dear." he said, making Carmari's eyebrow twitch, "it is what me and my people could do for you…"

"But first," he said, raising a finger, "I shall like to know your names, business courtesy and all."

Sophy'a thought for a moment, "My core name is Jasmin," Sophy'a lied, putting her hands on the table, "And that is Carmin." Carmari almost betrayed a look of confusion, then quickly hid it.

"All right," Tomkel, "your real names are not important."

 _I think we pulled it off._

"What is important, however," he continued, "Is what you need ol' Tomkel to do."

Sophy'a looked at him, "Very well, If you're so willing, How about a Holodata net?"

"Oooh," Tomkel looked at her, "That's going to fetch a hefty price. Rare piece of tech that is.

May I ask why you would need sucha device?"  
"You may," Sophy'a said calmly, "However, Common business courtesy dictates no question asks," her voice grew harder, "Just that the job is done."

"Ah, I forgot what it was like to work with Imperials." Tomkel joked, one of his crew members chuckled.

"Then you must have also forgotten the pay grade we _Imperials_ offer… should the job be done swiftly. You remember, right?" For a long moment the two stayed silent, looking at each other, but then Tomkel burst out laughing, filling the Cantina with his hearty laughter.

"I already like you, Chiss, Maybe one day-"

"So do you have it or not?" Carmari said, interrupting him again.

With an almost hurt look, Tomkel looked at the Ugnaught, "Piggy, the datapad." the Ugnaught snorted and handed Tomkel a datapad from the pack strapped to his back. Tomkel scrolled for a few moments. "I Can get it." Tomkel said, nodding as he stared at the scrolling datapad screen, "What exactly do you want me to do with it?" Sophy'a looked over to Carmari. He saw her deep red eyes under the glasses she wore to cover them, telling him subtly to answer him.  
"Ah," Carmari began, "We need information-"  
Tomkel chuckled again, "Why would you need a Holodata net for that?"

"-From the Eternal Empire."

Tomkel's face grew darker, "Ah, Welp…" He looked at his two crewmembers,

 _Uh oh,_ Carmari thought, and looked over to see Sophy'a share the same expression.

"It'll cost ya double, and odds are, well, prepare for disappointment. What exactly am I doing?"

* * *

"How did you know about Tomkel?" Carmari asked her as they walked through the marketplace. The Atmosphere was pleasant, celebration for Founders day was in full effect.

 _It was all so grand!_

"Intelligence records men like him for use in the field." Sophy'a said, "Especially those who they have done business with."

"So Imperial intelligence follows them around?" Carmari questioned.

"Now if I could confirm it to only you and not the others around us who surely heard our conversation, i would." Sophy'a said.

"Ah." Carmari said, looking behind his shoulder.

"What's the plan now then?" he asked Sophy'a.

"We wait for Tomkel and his crew to contact us for his offer." Sophy'a said, eyeing something in the stand she passed by. She saw Carmari look as well.

Carmari had already lost attention as was looking at a stand selling some other cheap items. Someone approached her to sell some kind of roasted meat. Sophy'a turned him down, and passed by him as he continued to curse in another language at her.

"We goin shopping?" Carmari asked.

"More like killing time." Sophy'a said as a man with balloons passed by, "And celebrating."

The two continued to walk, then Sophy'a noticed something on Carmari's face as he looked around at the mega structures that surrounded them.

"What is it?" Sophy'a asked.

"This city," Carmari said softly, "It reminds me of home…"

"What do you mean?" Sophy'a said.

"The celebration, the spire's, the feeling of hominess…" Carmari trailed off.

"I see." Sophy'a said.

"I have no more family anymore." Carmari said, "Its Loyalty or Death, and now Im being hunted down."

"Why not leave and go back then?" Sophy'a questioned.

Carmari shook his head, "that's not my place anymore. I won't be forgiven."

"I see…" Sophy'a said softly.

Carmari turned to her, his anger lashing out, "How could you?" he said, "The Eternal Empire was my home, and I left it." His face grew sour, "You've always had your Sith Empire."

Sophy'a turned to him now, her face serious. "I lost almost everything on Mordan'Morar."

Carmari stood silent for a moment, the realization hit him hard, "Listen," he began, but he was cut off.

"No you listen; Spys dont have the luxury of having a home, of having friends. One day it's here, another its their, new place, new faces, new goodbye's. Mordan'Moran was a chance. I was foolish to ever believe I could be an exception."

"Oh…." Carmari said, feeling the sting of her words.

"Perhaps my failure was being too attached," she continued, "Then I wouldn't have to deal with the consequences now."

Carmari tried again to open his mouth, but he couldn't, knowing that he could easily be in her shoes, only he hadn't realised it in time.

"There's more than one hurt being in the Galaxy." Sophy'a said, then turned to walk away. Carmari tried to raise his hand to catch her, but he was to slow; his arm responding to slow to his clouded mind.

"Im sorry." was all he could manage to say, his voice quiet and weak.

Sophy'a simply said nothing, turned her head, and walked away, leaving Carmari to stand there.

* * *

"Boy you must be the biggest fool this side of the Core!" the hologram said.

"Do you have the Holo datanet?" Carmari demanded, tapping his foot on the ground.

"I might, but one can never leave out cost!" Tomkell said, his voice upbeat and smart.

Carmari turned his head to the left and right, looking around as people passed the alleyway where he was contacting him over a small holocom.

"Tomkel please, I need this." he pleaded, "All you need to do is use the datanet, copy the transmission, and decrypt it using my Key."

"Hey look buddy, you and your friend are asking for hardware that's not exactly just lying around." Tomkel argued, "but perhaps for a little extra…"

"Tomkel, If Sophy'a and I don't get this hardware, we'll end up in Prison or worse," he paused, "possibility giving word to the Republic about your Imperial ties…" Carmari said.

 _He can't turn back now._

Tomkel paused for a moment, " _Sophy'a_ and you ey…" the hologram said thoughtfully, putting his finger to his mouth.

"Yaknow what Captain," Tomkel said, booming, "I'll give in, hey, even will cut ya a discount! I see this is so obviously important for you!"

"Thanks Tomkel!" Carmari said, elated. "I'll send you the Key in a moment." he began typing and sending the encryption file. "You won't regret this!"

"Oh buddy, you've been a mighty big help to me," the hologram said, "it's the least I can do."

* * *

Carmari knocked on the door, holding the datapad behind his back, nearly jumping in excitement.

Sophy'a opened the door, not saying a word. Night was approaching, the room was lit only by a lamp which stood on a small table next to the two couches. Sophy'a had changed to her nightly Imperial garb, having her hair flow onto her shoulders.

"Guess what!" Carmari said. Sophy'a sighed and shook her head as she opened the door, silent as the night. She simply opened the door, refusing to look him in the face, and went back to the couch, where a datapad was set on the small rectangle table.

 _Is she still mad at me?_

Carmari got closer, "Whats that?"

"Arrangements for your transfer back to Zakuul space." Sophy'a said, without looking up, "In an escape pod."

 _Yea she's still mad._

"Look" Carmari said, "I may have said some things, but-"

"But," Sophy'a interrupted him, "you won't say another thing as I continue the arrangements, then quietly and obediently comply." she looked up to him, "You get to go back _home_."

Carmari quickly sat on the opposite couch. "Hey, I chose to leave Home to Join _you_ , after all."

"Oh really." Sophy'a said, not taking her eyes of the datapad.

"Really." Carmari said, sternly.

"Look, I know I was shortsighted." Carmari began, his eyes giving her a pleading look. Sophy'a put down her datapad and raised her eyebrows.

She sighed "If you came here to grovel, I am not interested." she said quietly, shaking her head. She stood up and began walking to her room.

"I know," he hastily said, lifting his hand to block her, "I just wanted to say," a pause, "Im sorry."

Sophy'a stopped, "Words are one thing, Actions are another." she took a look at him, "And we still don't have the information we need for the chancellor." she said, sighing. "A deal like this with the Republic is invaluable, but without any bargaining chip, it will be a nightmare to sort everything out."

"That's what I wanted to show you!" Carmari stammered.

Sophy'a raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean? Tomkel did not notify me of any offer."

"That's because," Carmari said, lifted the datapad to her. "I already got what we need."

Sophy'a hesitantly took the datapad and sat beside Him. Her eyes slowly began to widen.

"This is the Eternal Empire's records for Force Users!" Sophy'a said gleefully.

"We got our bargaining chip." Carmari said confidently in the dim room.

Sophy'a's eyebrows narrowed, "These are for Jedi...And Sith?"

Carmari shrugged, "Its possible."

 _Hopefully_ Carmari though.

Sophy'a scrolled up, and entered in a keyword name for the datapad to search for. After a moment, she set the datapad down on her lap and sighed. Carmari leaned over to see the results.

 _:/Results = Negative; Keyword; Imperious= Not found;/_

A frown grew on Sophy'a's face as she stared down at her datapad. Fireworks began to boom outside, the Night in the City being illuminated by vibrant colours while the Jedi temple was in full view from their window. Carmari looked to the window, then to Sophy'a, who was also starring at the window as the fireworks began. Carmari wasn't sure, but as the bright flashes lit the dim room, he could see something gleaming down Sophy'a's cheek. He reached over to her hand and gently squeezed it. She didn't argue, she slowly moved her other hand to wipe her cheek.

"Dont worry." he said as the two sat there, watching the fireworks.

"We'll find your friend."

"One day"

* * *

"Yes sir, Sophy'a. That was her name." The figure in the hologram nodded.

"I must admit," the figure said, "It's a wonder a lowly Slicer managed to obtain that information."

"Nothing a little search couldn't handle and loose lips couldn't handle." Tomkel said confidently.

"May I ask how you learned it?" the Inspector said.

Tomkel laughed, "Now if i told you that, you wouldn't have need for me. Trust me buddy, this information is reliable."

The Inspector nodded, "Indeed, your reputation precedes you." he paused, "Funds are currently being transferred to your account, and I'm ordering a wipe on any Criminal charges we hold against you."

Tomkel smiled a toothy grin, "Nice doin business with ya Inspector!"

* * *

"I See." Chancellor Malcomic said, stroking his grey beard.

Sophy'a instinctively started preparing for a sorrowful rejection.

"This is quite the catch the Empire stumbled upon." he said.

 _Phew._

Carmari paced the room behind Sophy'a, "that's right, Mr Chancellor, You'll be able to get your Jedi back."

"Just because we know where they are," The Chancellor said, looking up, "doesn't mean we can bring them back." He set the datapad on the table. "Nonetheless, It will improve the senate's view on the Empire significantly, enough to improve relations including…" he cleared his throat, "More Clandestine trade deals."

He looked to Sophy'a, "I Must say Cipher, well done, perhaps the Republic will repay you of this kind favour."

"Any help is welcome Chancellor." Sophy'a answered, her voice cool.

The Chancellor chuckled, "Off Record," he looked from side to side, "The Enemy of my Enemy is my friend."

 _Interesting...His voice shows no sign of deception. His intentions seem to be pure._

"In any case," he concluded, "I Believe our business between us is concluded" He motioned his hand to the door. "You are free to depart whenever Coruscant Control gives you clearance." He extended his hand, "I look forward to see additional support later between our two Governments."  
Sophy'a lifted herself from the chair. She approached the Chancellor's desk, and grabbed the hand, which she shook. "It was a pleasure, Chancellor." she said, staring into his eyes. She let go, and Carmari followed suit, nodding as he shook his hand.

"Safe travels." The chancellor bid them, "And May the Force be with you." and the two walked out of the office.

* * *

Carmari leaned back in the chair, staring directly into another hyperspace tunnel. He snuck a look at Sophy'a, who was messing around with switches and buttons, typing things in the console in front of her. He sighed a deep sigh.

"Glad to be away from there?" Sophy'a asked, still concentrating on the controls of her ship.

"Just happy to get some time off." Carmari said, shaking his head slightly.

Sophy'a nodded, "Yes, It was a nice bit of time off." she pulled another few switches, "worked out for the Empire quite well."

"Could I ask you something?" Carmari said, his mood growing more serious.

"What would you like to know?" Sophy'a answered, her mood matching Carmari's

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why the Empire?" Carmari asked.

A pause, "The Empire is the galaxy's best chance for survival."

"What keeps you so loyal?" Carmari asked.

"Funny _you_ mention loyalty." Sophy'a retorted.

Carmari was stricken back, feeling a little hurt.

Sophy'a seemed to notice this, "Id rather not talk about it."

Carmari nodded, still feeling hurt. Another long moment of silence passed.

"Curious." Sophy'a said suddenly, breaking the silence.

 _What does that mean?  
_ "What?" Carmari said, confused

"You mentioned the phrase _Loyalty or Death_ on Coruscant." she clarified.

Carmari tilted his head, "yea why?"

"Isint it obvious?" She said.

Carmari shook his head.

"Loyalty to what?"

Carmari was stuck back by a moment by the question, finally, he answered, "the Immortal Emperor."

"Interesting." Sophy'a said.

"What does that have to do with it?" Carmari asked.

Sophy'a answered, "You seem to be abiding by your creed quite well, just in a different light." she paused, "Instead, you come and join the Sith Empire, and remain loyal to that by choice."

Carmari nodded.

"My situation is…" she lingered on that thought, "Similar. Only with me, its more rather a chance to preserve a family," she paused, "and a chance for revenge."

Carmari thought for a moment, then let out a smile, "Are you always this introspective?"

Sophy'a had to let out a small laugh, letting her mood lighten, "Only occasionally." shaking her head.

Carmari raised his hands, "I dunno," he said, "Your pretty silent most of the time."

She smirked, "Yes, because I am, trying to make sure you," pointing at him, "don't accidentally get us killed."

Carmari scoffed, "That's ridiculous,"

Sophy'a raised her eyebrow in response.

"If anyone is a danger here," Carmari retorted, "Its you."

Sophy'a faked a gasp, "Me? Why ever so?"

"Maybe because you are the one who arranges these plans in the first place." Carmari said.

"Perhaps." Sophy'a said, her voice trailing off, "I _Normally_ have it all under control."

"Hey," Carmari said "If it wasn't for me, We would still be there."

"I would have handled it," Sophy'a argued, "eventually."

"Right, and how would you do that?" Carmari asked, his disbelief growing more and more.

Sophy'a turned to him, a lighthearted smiled formed, "by leaving you on the ship next time."

Carmari and Sophy'a both laughed at that. A button buzzed on the console.

"Strap in," she said after the two finished the laugh, "We're about to exit hyperspace."

Carmari strapped himself into the copilot seat. Sophy'a pulled a lever, and within moments, the ship exited hyperspace and in the viewport appeared the many triangular shaped dreadnaughts and capital ships of the Imperial fleet

* * *

The two were summoned to the throne room as soon as they boarded the Ship. Sophy'a walked briskly down the marble hallway, passing by her room, and approached the grand doors of the Empress's throne room aboard the _Majesty of Flame._ The Guards simply nodded at her, though, with a spark of angist in their eyes. But as Carmari approached, the guards raised their weapons, causing Carmari to back instinctively in surprise.

"You are not authorised." the guard said.

"He's with me." Sophy'a said to them, but the guards only repeated their phrase,

"You are not authorised."

Sophy'a sighed, _Figures as much._

"Wait here." she said to him. He gave her a quick nod in response, and walked a little further away from the group of guards that stood in front of the door.

The doors were open and Sophy'a walked in. Icarus was sitting on her throne, pondering at a map infront of her.

"Welcome, Cipher Nine." she said, still staring at the map.

"You highness." still not enjoying those words coming out of her mouth. She bowed slightly,

 _It would only be worth it to appease Icarus's ego._

"The Pleasantries can wait." she told her, causing Sophy'a to raise an eyebrow in response.

"I have news that cannot wait." she stood up from her throne, her clothing trailing behind her as she walked towards Sophy'a.

"Look at this." a quick breeze past her and a small holocommunicator floated between them. It was activated to reveal a face, a familiar face, with white hair, mustache, and matching beard. His uniform was white and gold with hints of green.

 _Inspector Corvin_ Sophy'a realised, her eyes gaping wide as she looked at the hologram.

"Greetings, Those among the Sith Empire." the hologram begun, the face showing no sign of emotion.

 _Just like on Vespin._ She noticed, beginning to feel a little angst herself.

"These charades have gone long enough." he continued, "These skirmishes cannot continue. The Eternal Empire nor the Sith Empire has the resources to spare for such an event." The message was short, but the next thing he said nearly made Sophy'a's mouth drop.

"Therefore, let us meet, and discuss terms of ceasefire."

* * *

End of Chapter 7


End file.
